Chasing After a Horoscope Idiot
by TILAgal
Summary: Chasing after a certain horoscope freak was extremely difficult. Editing the horoscope, wearing a ridiculous bunny suit and even enlisting the help of the GoM members were all part of his terribly failed attempts to woo the idiot. But Takao knows that the end justifies the means and his efforts in getting this idiot to fall in love with him if he ever succeeds would pay off.
1. Chapter 1

**Chasing After a Horoscope Idiot**

**A/N: **My first ever fanfic after lurking as a reader for many years. Please be lenient with me (/bows) Reviews are appreciated!

**Summary: **Chasing after a certain horoscope freak was extremely difficult, as Takao Kazunari finds out. Editing the horoscope, wearing a ridiculous bunny suit and even enlisting the help of the GoM members were all part of his terribly failed attempts to woo the idiot. The fact that this freak was slow, dense and an extreme tsundere (but still a really adorable one) did not help either. Takao wondered if he could ever get this idiot to fall in love with him.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke and its characters and stuff.

* * *

CHAPTER 1:

_CANCER: __Why get a different lucky item every day when you can have constant luck on your side with your lucky person? Find your precious good luck charm (with the initials T.K.) and your luck will never run out for the rest of the year!_

Midorima Shintaro pushed up his glasses, and read that day's horoscope again to ascertain what strangeness he had just read.

Lucky person? Was this some new fad he was unaware of in the luck world? He had not been up-to-date with the recent trends in the luck world lately.

He closed the magazine Takao had bought him that morning. It was rather strange for Takao to be insisting on buying the magazine for him when he was constantly teasing Midorima over following the horoscope so strictly.

That morning, Takao had pushed the magazine into his hands, insisting that it was not good to listen to the Oha-Asa's horoscope readings all the time and that a change to the magazine would be good once in a while. Midorima had accepted the magazine without complaint – why refuse something free if he wanted it in the first place? But the magazine must have been low on their budget that week or something. The corrections to the typing errors on the magazine were done with paper and tape! He shook the nagging thought in his mind that the handwriting on the errata looked familiar and closed the magazine.

_They must have run out of luck with money_, he snorted to himself.

He got up from his seat in the school cafeteria and headed off in search of Takao. Takao would probably be in the locker rooms waiting for practice to start. This whole idea of a 'lucky person' seemed far-fetched, a joke even, to him. But since the horoscope said so (and the horoscope was never wrong), it must be so and he had to listen to it at all costs. Besides, there was only one person he knew who could possibly be the so-called lucky 'T.K' and he was sure (or maybe not) that with a little persuasion, that the person would not mind being his lucky person. Midorima would be able to find out if this strange method work out in due time. If it did, well, good for him! If not, there was nothing much to lose except his pride.

Takao Kazunari was just minding his own business in the locker rooms while waiting for the basketball club practice to begin. He wondered if Midorima had read and believed the horoscope he had altered that morning. Takao had little, actually zero, experience in horoscope writing-he would have quit school and become a fortune teller if he could churn out purple prose that could attract horoscope maniacs (like a certain-haired shooter) into tuning in to the radio every morning. Surely quite an amount of money could be earned from that. He hoped that Midorima had understood his rather subtle way of confessing his feelings to him and would accept his feelings and maybe even declare that he had felt the same way ever since they first met. Takao wouldn't mind that result, but of course such things only happened in the fantasy world in his head with fantasy Shin-chan cooing "I love yous" at him and being really affectionate with him every second.

He was lost in his daydream, replaying over and over again fantasy Shin-chan's red face (He was blushing! That tsundere!) as he confessed his love for Takao when the door of the locker rooms flew open. His heart stopping in his chest, Takao turned to the door wearing what he hoped was a seemingly neutral (or at least, composed) expression and said in a rather neutral tone "What's up, Shin-chan?"

_Keep calm, keep calm, keep calm_ he told himself as he looked at Midorima expectantly.

This was it! This was the long-awaited confession from Shin-chan!

Takao found himself leaning on the edge of the seat and despite his attempts to look normal, he was bubbling with excitement.

"Takao, take the cart out, we are going to Seirin."

A moment of silence passed, and Midorima tapped his foot impatiently.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Did you not hear what I said?"

"No… I heard you loud and clear," Takao laughed despite his confusion. "But why are we going to Seirin? Can't you just—"

"I need to find Kuroko and ask him to be my lucky person. The magazine you bought me said so." Midorima cut in, his irritation starting to set in.

Another moment of silence passed, before the reality of the situation crashed down on Takao.

"EHHHHHHH?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I forgot to put a disclaimer in the previous chapter OTL To those who reviewed, favourited and added this story to the story alert and more, thank you! Your reviews were really encouraging so I was motivated to forgo my homework to finish chapter 2 (previously 2a) even though I estimated that it would take the weekend to finish it: D Hope the chapter doesn't disappoint! 3 should be out soon too. Thanks to xkaiblue for being my awesome beta and to Monochrome Blade for pointing out the quotation mark issue! From now on, speeches will be in double quotation marks and thoughts will be in italics.

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke and its characters and all don't belong to me ;_;

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CHAPTER 2:

_Hah hah..._

Takao panted as he pedaled the cart through the streets. Sweat drenched his uniform and he felt his legs starting to feel lethargic.

Shin-chan that idiot! His previous attempt at dissuading Shinchan from going to Seirin by complaining that they were missing practice, had failed. Shin-chan had just waved his reason off, said haughtily, "The coach will look past this." and proceeded to ignore Takao's rants throughout the journey. So now Takao was sulking and refusing to speak to Shin-chan. Not that Shin-chan seemed to care as he stared at the passing streets, his expression one of deep concentration, probably working on what to say to Kuroko later on.

Feeling his irritation building up, Takao started pedalling the cart more vigorously in his anger while thinking of ways to prevent them from reaching Seirin. Realising that he was speeding up the journey, he started slowing down till he was cycling at the pace of a snail. Just then, an idea struck him. He started counting to twenty before pedalling once and repeating the process again.

After 10 minutes into his brilliant idea, which had resulted in not much progress in the distance they were travelling, he felt a slight blow to his head and sheepishly turned around to face an annoyed Midorima.

"What exactly do you think you are doing?" Midorima asked while giving him an are-you-nuts look. Takao gulped and offered him a sheepish smile.

_Shit, what should I say? Think think think!_

"Ah! I'm... exercising! Yeah that's right! Exercising! Yup I read somewhere that if one cycles in slow motion, his calf muscles would really build up! So this is the perfect opportunity to work out since we are skipping practice!"

Takao looked at Shin-chan meaningfully but his words fell on deaf ears.  
Shin-chan's eye merely twitched in annoyance and he whacked Takao on the head again.

"You can work out when we are not in a hurry. Right now, I need Kuroko by my side! So get me to Seirin ASAP!"

Takao sighed.

_This is going to be a looonnngg day…_

* * *

At Seirin

Upon reaching Seirin, Midorima headed to the sports hall immediately. Takao parked the cart and dutifully followed after him, silently and desperately hoping that the Seirin basketball club practice was cancelled or something. His hopes were dashed when he heard the sound of shoes squeaking against the floor of the basketball court and Aida Riko's shrill whistle piercing the air.

_Maybe I should get a lucky item instead…_Takao thought and sighed dramatically. Shin-chan gave him a warning look and entered the hall.

"Woah! It's Midorima Shintaro! And the hawk-eyed guy!" some black haired guy shouted upon spotting the arrival of the two.

"What's he doing here?"

"To see Kuroko of course, what else?"

Takao frowned. Of course they would forget his name. Announcing his displeasure with a loud "hmpf", he stalked to the side of the hall and gestured at Midorima to finish his business quickly. Hopefully, Kuroko was smart enough to see how stupid the lucky person thing was, he thought, forgetting that he was the one who had thought of it in the first place.

He watched Midorima approach Kuroko, who had stood up from the benches to acknowledge their presence. Kagami had joined in the exchange as well, not liking the fact that Midorima was looking for Kuroko. They started a rather heated discussion and Midorima seemed to have lost as he nodded his head swiftly and gestured for the two to go outside.

They went to an empty area nearby and Takao tagged along, wanting to see what would happen. This would be sort of funny if it didn't involve his love life at stake! The thought of Midorima confessing to Kuroko in the presence of Kagami would surely create some sort of entertaining chaos to watch. Takao leaned against the wall and stifled a giggle. Well, if anything happened, he would be ready to intervene and save his Shin-chan!

Midorima looked at Kuroko with his usual piercing stare.

This was it. He was going to ask Kuroko to become his lucky person. It was super embarrassing and may make him seem lame and all but his luck throughout the year depended on this!

Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and said in one breath:

"Willyoubemyluckyperson?"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Chapter 3 (previously 2b) is up~ The continuation of the Seirin confrontation is here xD Sorry for the wait and do tell me your thoughts about the story! Thanks to xkaiblue for being my beta!

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke is not mine!

CHAPTER 3

Takao nearly burst out laughing as Kuroko who had understood Midorima's words had his eyes opened wide for a while before returning to his usual blank expression while Kagami went "WHAT?" and glared confusedly at Midorima.

"Midorima-kun, I am afraid I might have heard you wrongly. Could you repeat that again at a slower pace this time?" Kuroko inquired.

Face flushing in embarrassment (Takao thought it was adorable), Midorima repeated his words and this time, he explained the situation to both Kuroko and Kagami.

A calm "I see…"and an enraged shout of "What the shit are you talking about? "emerged from the light and his shadow at the same time.

Kuroko looked both thoughtful and also slightly amused as he glanced at Takao with a knowing look while Kagami was livid and still a little confused about the situation.

_Damn, he's smart! How can Shin-chan not get the hint when Kuroko could? _Takao's face also turned red upon realising the fact that Kuroko had found out his secret.

"So, will you become my lucky person? Take it as doing your ex-teammate a favour? " Midorima's face looked half tortured and half embarrassed as he grinded the words out of his mouth. The thought of someone doing him a favour was unthinkable! To make things worse, it had to be Kuroko!

"What do you mean by that? You can't just barge in and demand Kuroko to become your lucky person or whatever! Besides, why would Kuroko want to be with a grumpy grumps like you when he has m- I mean us! Right, Kuroko?" Kagami glowered at Midorima while nudging his partner's shoulder. Takao nearly doubled over in laughter. Oh this was precious! What kind of insult was grumpy grumps anyway?

Kuroko looked at Kagami with what Takao thought was an endearing gaze and stepped towards Midorima.

"Midorima-kun, you do realise that asking me to be your lucky person would mean that I have to be with you 24/7? And we haven't even counted in the troubles of me having to transfer schools, going to the bathroom with you, and even the home factor. This lucky person thing is surely an impossible thing to do even if the person is your lover.."

Midorima frowned. What Kuroko said did make sense, but still! It was the horoscope which had suggested it and the horoscope was never wrong!

"I'm sure it will work out somehow, " he tried again. "The horoscope told me you are my lucky person! "

"Then Kagami-kun may possibly be your lucky person as well. His name has the initials T and K too. "

An awkward silence passed as Midorima's, Kagami's and Takao's eyes widened, realising that Kuroko's words were true. Kagami looked scandalized while Takao wanted to slap himself. Why didn't he think of this particular loophole? T.K could be anyone as long as they had the initials in their name! He should have been more specific in the 'horoscope', like writing down his name in hangman form or stating that the 'lucky person' was always beside him all the time. Now that would have probably been more obvious and this strange situation would not have occurred. In fact, if he had done so, he and Shin-chan might even be on a date right now!

Groaning, Takao wondered how he had managed to get into this little mess. Well, the mess was partly his fault... But Shin-chan was at fault too for interpreting the 'horoscope' too deeply! Shin-chan was supposed to look at Takao Kazunari, the person right beside him and the glaringly obvious fact that he was T.K. Not Kuroko Tetsuya or even Kagami Taiga for that matter! Their initials were not even in the right order for that matter! The thought of Kuroko (or even Kagami) and Shin-chan going on a date together and being all touchy feely was not only mentally disturbing and also gave him a feeling of nausea. Shin-chan was his! No Kuroko or Kagami or whoever could take Shin-chan from him!

While Takao was lost in his self-reprimanding, Midorima was still shocked at the point Kuroko brought up. Images of him and Kagami spending their lives together suddenly appeared in his mind. He saw himself walking to school with Kagami (Takao was nowhere in sight), eating homemade bento Kagami had made for him for lunch, playing basketball _on the same team_ with Kagami and even _having fun_at that. When he reached the image of Kagami sharing the same bed as him, he felt bile rising to his throat and shook his head violently. Okay, maybe he didn't think the whole idea through before rushing to Seirin. He could not accept doing such things with either of the duo in front of him.

Backing away from Kagami, Midorima decided that he had enough of this lucky person idea. From now on, he was sticking to Oha-Asa no matter what Takao or anyone else said to him. The Oha-Asa was surely more sensible than that magazine!

Takao got up from his position at the wall to follow Midorima when he felt a tug at his uniform. He turned back and was surprised to see Kuroko staring at him with a slight smile.

"Goodbye, Takao-kun. I wish you the best in your pursuit of Midorima-kun."

Takao nodded and turned back to head towards Midorima and their cart when he heard a mumble low enough for only him to hear.

"To help you in this pursuit, Midorima-kun loves bunnies, even if he doesn't say anything about it."

_Bunnies? _Flabbergasted, Takao whipped his head back to look at the smaller boy whose face (was he smirking before?) had reverted to his usual emotionless expression.

Perhaps he would check out the costume store near his house once he got back home.

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**A/N: **You all can guess from the summary what the next chapter is going to be about xD Stay tuned~


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Here's chapter 4 a.k.a the bunny suit chapter! And also, happy birthday to Kattan Tieguchi! Take this update as a little birthday present xD Reviews are appreciated! Thanks to xkaiblue for being my beta again!

**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to me.

CHAPTER 4:

At Shutoku

Takao leaned against a spot near the school entrance in his new costume. He had thought through Kuroko's advice the day before and went out to rent a bunny suit the moment he reached home. He had decided to go to school early so that he could change into the suit before Shin-chan arrived. Shin-chan might be angry with him for not fetching him to school today but this surprise would definitely change Shin-chan's mind! The suit was uncomfortable and really hot, but Takao would bear with it because this was what Shin-chan loved. He couldn't wait to see Shin-chan's look of ecstasy when he saw what Takao had done for him. Smiling to himself, Takao lost himself in his fantasy, oblivious to the weird stares he was getting from his schoolmates...

_"T-ta-takao... What is that you are wearing?", fantasy Shin-chan stuttered, flushing a great shade of pink as he took in the sight of fantasy Takao and his costume._

_"I know how much Shin-chan loves bunnies, so i wore this bunny suit just for you!", fantasy Takao beamed, gazing expectantly at fantasy Shin-chan._

_"Takao... I LOVE YOU!", fantasy Shin-chan shouted and hugged fantasy Takao with all his might. Fantasy Takao gasped in sheer delight. "I love you too, Shin-chan!"_

_Ehehehehehehehe_ Takao chuckled to himself. This time, Shin-chan would definitely appreciate his efforts! Just then, he spotted a green head moving towards the school. Shin-chan was here! Takao stood upright, smoothened down the fur on his suit and stared directly at Shin-chan. _He's coming..._ At any moment, Takao's dreams would become reality! He opened his mouth to call out to Shin-chan but Shin-chan merely glanced at him before walking into the school, ignoring his existence completely.

_Huh?_

Takao was confused. Why did Shin-chan ignore him? According to his fantasy, this wasn't supposed to happen! Snapping out of his shock, Takao ran into the school in search of Shin-chan, not bothering to apologise to the few students he had knocked over.

"Shin-chan!" Takao cried as he stumbled into class, gaining the attention of the few who were already in class.

Shin-chan just stared at him and in a rather puzzled voice, asked "Who are you?"

Takao stood with his mouth agape. Shin-chan didn't recognise him? How could he after all the hard work (and money) he had spent in making sure the costume looked really good? He had brushed the fur tenderly for so many times until he had lost count, bought a giant pink ribbon to match the pink fur and even sprayed some flowery perfume as a finishing touch ! _Oh. _Takao realised. No wonder Shin-chan couldn't recognise him, the bunny head was covering his head after all!

Grinning, Takao removed the giant bunny head and said "Shin-chan, it's me! What do you think of this bunny suit? Do you like it?" He even hopped around in an attempt to imitate a bunny, earning himself a few laughs from his classmates.

"Nice costume, Takao- no I mean Usa-chan!"

"What's with the pink?"

Takao ignored the snickers from his classmates and looked intently at Shin-chan. Those people could laugh for all they want! Takao would be the one laughing when Shin-chan confesses his love for him!

Shin-chan gave him a once over and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I think it's ridiculous. And stupid. Isn't it hot in there? You are sweating like mad."

Takao took a while to register his words.

_Ri-ridiculous!_ Takao screamed in his mind. _Stupid?_

"Don't you like this kind of things?" Takao asked in a slightly hurt voice.

"No, I hate it." was the curt reply.

_Shin-chan that idiot! Why was he hiding the fact that he liked bunnies? Unless Kuroko was lying to me… But that's impossible..._

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud sneeze from his green-haired partner. Shin-chan's nose twitched and he sniffed at the air before closing into Takao.

_Uwahhhh he's so close! _

"You stink."

Takao flinched. This was what he got for trying so hard to please Shin-chan? He glared at Shin-chan, the rest of the class and those busybodies outside the classroom watching the commotion and stomped out of the room, leaving a confused Midorima who was too busy sneezing to chase after him.

* * *

At the locker rooms

_Stupid, stupid Shin-chan!_ Takao sniffed a little as he sat in the locker rooms of the basketball club. He had ended up skipping lessons in order to avoid Shin-chan and the obvious teasing he would get from his classmates if he returned. He stared at the bunny suit he left on the floor, kicking it in a sudden burst of anger. The bunny's large and rather creepy eyes stared back at him, as if mocking him of his failure in getting Shin-chan to like him. He should return it to the store as soon as possible - having the suit lying around to remind him of what had happened would anger him even more.

He fumbled in his pockets for the costume shop's business card and dialled the number printed on it.

"Welcome to XXX Costumes, where all your needs for a costume are met. This is Kuroba speaking. How many I help you?" the chirpy voice of the shop owner sounded in Takao's ear.

"This is Takao Kazunari… I would like to return the bunny suit I rented yesterday…"

"Oh? You are the boy whose lover loves bunnies right? Why return it so fast? Your girlfriend disliked it?" Kuroba asked in concern.

"Yea… Shin-chan hated it…" Takao's voice got lower as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Ehh… Maybe your lover would like the other kind of bunny suit? If you know what I mean," Kuroba laughed. "I mean, dressing up in a mascot costume must have freaked her out. Not to mention that it is rather unromantic. So why not try this new suit that just arrived this morning? I guarantee a good time for you two! One size fits all! You two can even take turns wearing it!" Takao could almost see the shop owner winking on the other end of the phone.

_Ehhh… Maybe Kuroba is right… Maybe the kind of bunny Shin-chan likes is the other kind…_ If that was the case, then it wasn't Shin-chan's fault for hating the mascot costume! It was Takao's own fault for choosing the wrong costume! Cheered up by his own thoughts, Takao replied to Kuroba very enthusiastically:

"I'll take the new suit!"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry, for some reason, I feel that this chapter doesn't seem to flow well... So I am attempting to improve my flow of writing in chapter 5 so the next update may not come soon. To the guest who previously asked about Takao's name, in Japan, the family is written first then the first name. So T.K. is the right order :) Hope that answers your question!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Chapter 5 is up! And that means part two of the the bunny suit saga is here! Another member of the GoM makes an appearance here and he will be the next one helping Takao xD Thank you to those who reviewed, favourited or followed this story! I hope you all will continue to enjoy the rest of the story! Please read, enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basuke is not mine, unfortunately...

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CHAPTER 5:

That night...

Takao stood in front of Shin-chan's house, pulling the trench coat he was wearing tighter around his body. If he thought the bunny mascot was bad, this bunny suit was worse! It was so embarrassing! He didn't dare to look at his reflection when he was putting the suit on. He really hoped this was the kind of bunny Shin-chan liked or he would seriously strangle himself for wearing this sort of clothing. That evening, Takao had skipped basketball practice and went home without Midorima to get the suit from Kuroba so Takao had no doubts that Shin-chan was angry with him right now. Hopefully, Shin-chan would forgive him for ignoring his calls throughout the whole day upon seeing Takao in the suit and all would be well. Part one of Operation Bunny had failed but this time Takao was quite sure he would do no wrong.

Actually, he had no idea what would happen after revealing the suit to Shin-chan. Shin-chan's reactions to his attempts were all different from what he had expected and he couldn't rely on his fantasies or so he had learnt from previous experience. Takao just hoped that things would go smoothly later on.

Takao thought it was rather strange (and kinky) for Shin-chan to like such... stuff... Bunnies, especially the kind like the costume he had on now, were definitely one of the last things he thought Shin-chan would like. But Kuroko had helpfully volunteered this information and Takao was grateful for his effort in helping him woo Shin-chan. Kuroko did know Shin-chan for a longer time after all, so he was bound to know things about Shin-chan Takao had not found out _yet_.

Transferring the bunny ears hairband to his left hand, he pressed the doorbell and waited.

There was no answer. _Was Shin-chan not at home?_ Takao wondered as he poked the doorbell button repeatedly.

_Aww man, guess I have to come back another day... _He sighed and turned to leave; dreading the next time he had to wear the suit again when the door opened abruptly and Midorima poked his head out.

"Takao," he acknowledged coldly with a lift of his eyebrow.

"Shin-chan."

There was an awkward silence.

"Aren't you going to invite me in? I need to show you something, Shin-chan." Takao looked at Midorima apologetically.

Shin-chan seemed to hesitate; he looked back into his house, his brow furrowing before he caught sight of Takao's pleading expression. He gave a slight nod and opened the door wider. Takao walked into Shin-chan's house and stood in the middle of the hallway, unsure if he could enter Shin-chan's room with the awkward tension between them at the moment.

"Are your parents at home?" he asked Shin-chan who had just entered the hallway. He wasn't planning on freaking Shin-chan's parents out with what he was wearing now.

"No, they are out working."

Takao heaved a sigh of relief and looked directly at Shin-chan.

_Alright, I can do this..._

His thoughts were cut short by Midorima's voice.

"What is wrong with you today? You went to school without fetching me, forcing me to walk to school and I was almost late, you wore a freaking bunny suit to school, you skipped lessons and practice and most importantly, you ignored my calls! Explain yourself!" Shin-chan erupted rather abruptly, folding his arms and glaring at a shocked Takao.

"...I'm sorry Shin-chan, I have my reasons for that. I think you will understand once you see this." With that said, Takao placed the bunny ears on his head.

Midorima's face had a what-the-shit expression as he stared at the two floppy bunny ears on Takao's head. "How does that explain anything? You developed a bunny fetish or something?"

Takao shook his head rapidly. Hands trembling, Takao could feel his face heating up as he slowly unbuttoned the trenchcoat and let it fall to the ground.

Shin-chan's face turned a shade of red gradually as he took in the sight before him. "Takao," he began, taking a few steps back.

Upon seeing Shin-chan backing away, Takao panicked and shouted "It's not what it looks like Shin-chan! I'm not a pervert or anything. It's jus- AHHHHHH!" Takao cried out as he tripped over his own feet as he moved towards Shin-chan.

"Takaooowww-!" Midorima cried out as Takao fell right onto him, a loud thump sounding out as they landed on the floor together.

"Owwww...!" Takao winced but on seeing Midorima's unmoving figure, started panicking.

"Shin-chan are you okay? Shin-chan? Don't die! Oh Shin-chan I'm so sorry, it's all my fault for killing you I didn't mean to! We still need you for the basketball team! We still haven't kis- I MEAN KILL! WE STILL HAVEN'T KILLED SEIRIN YET! WAKE UP SHIN-CHAN!" Takao's voice got louder as the realisation that he had almost confessed to Shin-chan dawned on him and he fumbled over Shin-chan in his panicking. Shaking the green-haired shooter madly, Takao continued his wailing, his bunny ears flopping around and whacking Midorima in the face.

"Stop yelling and shut up... My head is hurting... Get those stupid ears off… They are slapping me…" Midorima muttered as he sat up from his position on the ground, causing Takao to slide down and straddle him.

_Woah… Th-this position… _Takao's face turned redder than before. Shin-chan didn't seem to notice as he rubbed his head in irritation.

He could lean in and kiss Shin-chan now. He really could. They were so close after all. Gazing at Shin-chan's lips, Takao unconsciously leaned forward, bringing his face closer to Midorima.

_Almost there now…_

Feeling Takao's presence over him, Midorima looked up. Their lips touched. Shin-chan froze in shock as the two of them were caught in a lip lock.

_OHMYGAWD WE ARE KISSING! KISSING! OR RATHER I'M KISSING SHIN-CHAN SINCE HE'S JUST STONING THERE BUT WE ARE KIS-_

"Midorimacchi! What's wrong? What was that sound just - WOAH!" a voice screamed, its owner's eyes bulging out of their sockets as he barged into the scene. Midorima's eyes regained his focus and he shoved Takao off him immediately and turned his head towards the new arrival.

There was another moment of awkward silence as the three stared at each other, all stunned and speechless for different reasons.

The pair on the ground were probably never that desperate for a hole in the ground to open and swallow them up at that moment.

* * *

**A/N:** Lol everyone should be able to tell who just ruined the moment xD Chapter 6 will be up soon since this update took quite a while


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Fast update today. And now we are moving on to enlisting the help of the next member of the GoM Kise Ryouta! The scenes with Takao and Kise may seem awkward a little since they have never interacted before but I hope that they are still in character so do tell me if there is anything wrong with their interactions!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke!

CHAPTER 6

Still at Midorima's house

"!"

Kise Ryouta was speechless. He had only dropped (or forced into, as Midorimacchi claimed) by Midorimacchi's house for a short visit but this situation was... certainly unexpected. He eyed Takao from head to toe, taking in the unusually large and floppy bunny ears, the black skin-tight leotard which hugged his figure (in a rather good way for a guy, Kise had to admit), the black fishnet stockings and finally, the painful looking 4-inch heels (how had he managed to walk in those?) the black-haired point guard had on. Smirking, Kise let out a low whistle (causing Takao to blush) and folded his arms, expecting an explanation.

Midorima seemed to just notice the fact that Takao had worn heels inside his house and ordered Takao to leave them outside (Kise presumed that Midorimacchi just wanted to stall for time), which Takao readily complied. Looking back at Kise, he glared at him, daring the blond to say a word. Kise merely grinned and shrugged his shoulders. _This was going to be very interesting indeed!_

"Kise." Takao acknowledged meekly as he returned to the hallway, hiding behind Midorima like a lost puppy. Kise noticed with a little disappointment that he had put a trench coat on and also removed the bunny ears but whatever~ the main issue wasn't that! He had just witnessed Midorimacchi and his basketball partner (dressed in a sexy bunny costume, he must add) engrossed in a steamy make-out session. This was scandalous! He couldn't wait to share with his former teammates the wonderful news of Midorimacchi and his love! They would have to throw a party for the couple with sake and cake to celebrate this significant occasion! Man, he should have taken some pictures to commemorate this occasion!

As if sensing what Kise was thinking about, Midorima glared harder. "Don't even think about telling the others." he warned. "This was purely an accident; Takao tripped on his ridiculous high heels and fell on me. That's all."

"But the ki-" Kise blurted out.

"Shut up."

Midorima's tone grew colder as his glare intensified even more. Kise wondered how Midorimacchi could manage such great degrees of powerful glares without his face bursting into flames. The thought of Midorimacchi's face exploding made him grin, which only annoyed Midorima further.

"Soooo… There's nothing between you two? What's with the sexy costume then? And the kis-" Kise cut his words off again as Midorimacchi's eyes seemed to burn with greater anger than before.

"There is absolutely nothing going on between us two, do you hear me? We are just basketball partners, that's all. What you just saw was just one of Takao's antics. He has been a little crazier recently."

Takao, who had been staying silent the entire time, flinched, his face crumpling into an expression of hurt and disappointment as he looked away from Midorima. His movement did not go unnoticed by Kise, and upon realising the situation at hand, pitied the poor guy for falling in love with the stubborn Midorimacchi.

"Midorimacchi, you are too dense." Kise told Midorima point blank, causing Midorima to splutter at the seemingly random insult.

"What-"

"I'm going back now! Oh, but I want to talk to you for a while, Takao. Come with me to outside okay? We'll go home together. And sorry for interrupting your love session!" with that being said, Kise grabbed Takao's arm and dragged him out of an enraged Midorima's house.

* * *

Outside Midorima's house

"Umm… What did you want to talk about?" Takao asked. He had never interacted with the blond directly, only hearing of his famous ability of being the 'Copycat' and the fact that he had seen him in such an embarrassing outfit made the situation rather awkward for him. Takao was willing to wear that outfit for Shin-chan, but it didn't mean that he wanted others to see him in it too.

"That was a great move, seducing Midorimacchi, I mean. It was totally obvious but Midorimacchi's too much of an idiot to get it. Sooo you need to be even more obvious!" Kise said, giving an apologetic and encouraging smile to Takao which only served to make Takao feel worse.

_So he found out as well…_

Was his crush on Shin-chan that obvious? With the number of people finding out increasing steadily, Takao wondered how the heck did Shin-chan not notice his 'totally obvious' affections. Kise was right in saying that Shin-chan was a dense idiot.

Takao sighed, his shoulders sagging a little.

Kise noticed the dejected sigh and wrapped his arm around Takao in an attempt to comfort him.

"Fear not! I'll help you! Midorimacchi will fall for you in no time! Kurokocchi gave me this Guide to Flirting when we were still in high school and it has worked wonders on the girls! If you don't understand anything inside, just ask me to explain it to you!" Kise rummaged around his bag and pulled out a tattered and dog-earred book, making Takao wonder why on earth did Kise carry that around with him all the time.

He took the book from Kise's proffered hand and read the title:

'Flirting for Dummies by Kuro Tetsu and Aho Mine'

It seemed highly suspicious… And the 'book' seemed more like an exercise book than an actual one. The authors' names were familiar too but he couldn't place why. But if Kise, a highly popular model who won the hearts of a million girls, succeeded with this book, Takao could do it too!

Hugging the book like it was some national treasure, Takao thanked Kise repeatedly. He decided to return home instead of returning to Shin-chan's house.

He was going to do some intensive studying when he reached home.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Kagami-kun…" a certain blue-haired boy spoke to his partner in Maji Burger.

"Mmpfhhh?" was the reply as Kagami continued stuffing himself with burgers.

"Nothing… I was just wondering how things were going with Takao-kun and Midorima-kun." a hint of mischief was evident in the smaller boy's voice.

"Mmpffhhh."

* * *

**A/N:** So now Kise's way of helping is revealed! See how Takao masters the art of flirting in the next chapter (and maybe more) xD Do read and review :)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thank you guys for the reviews and favourites! This chapter marks the start of progress in Takao and Midorima's relationship xD Thank you Felifeli-chan and LSY for helping me with this chapter! Please read, enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke!

CHAPTER 7:

Flirting for Dummies Tips #1 and 2:

_1. Winking at your crush every time you see him will definitely let him feel your attraction to him._

_2. Hugs are a good way to share your love with your crush! It's best to do it with great enthusiasm and love!_

Takao double-checked the Guide again for comfort. After spending the previous night poring over each and every tip in the book, Takao was sure he had got it covered. He could recite all eight rules of the Guide now. Now, if only he could memorise his notes for school as well as how he studied for this...

He had practised winking in front of the mirror, pasting a photograph of Shin-chan on it to make the scenario more realistic. Takao could say that he was pleased with the results. He thought his winks were rather sexy and was sure that Shin-chan would be unable to resist them. So this time, he would succeed in getting Shin-chan's love! (Or at least, realistically speaking, make Shin-chan get the fact that Takao liked him)

It was obvious to Takao that Operation Bunny Part Two was also a complete failure (due to the unexpected intrusion of Kise Ryouta). Judging from Shin-chan's reaction the night before, Takao was sure that Shin-chan had more or less concluded that the whole operation as Takao being up to his antics as usual. While it hurt Takao to see that Shin-chan did not take him seriously, Takao couldn't blame him for that since all he ever did was act like a goofball in front of Shin-chan.

So there he was, waiting in front of Shin-chan's house with the cart. Takao pressed the doorbell eagerly. Schooling his expression into a slightly seductive one (he wouldn't want Shin-chan to get overly excited), Takao jerked forward as the door opened, calling out a loud "Shin-chan!" He planted his face right into Shin-chan's, winked at him and then proceeded to hug him.

Eyes closed in anticipation of Shin-chan's reaction, Takao grinned.

There was silence. Takao opened his eyes.

And in his arms stood Shin-chan's mother who smiled at him with a slight blush and a confused look.

"Hello, Takao-kun, you seem really excited today. Shintaro was so upset when you weren't here yesterday! Wait a while more; he's getting ready to leave now."

Takao was mortified. He had winked at and hugged Shin-chan's mother! She probably thought he was trying to seduce her or that he was a pervert or something! Letting go of her sheepishly, Takao greeted her with a blush of his own. He had to distract her somehow!

"Ahhh my eye hurts! There's something in it!" He cried out and blinked rapidly at her. He was about to go on about the pain when the door was opened wider.

"Let's go, Takao." Shin-chan was out. He walked to the cart and climbed in. Takao noticed his lucky item for the day: a mop. He tried not to snigger at the sight. Shin-chan carrying a mop around, now that was surely a sight to see! He imagined Shin-chan mopping the school floor with his usual dead expression. Stifling his laugh, Takao made his face look as serious as possible.

"Yo." Takao said as nonchalantly as possible. If Shin-chan wanted to pretend nothing had happened, Takao would play along with him too. He looked up at Shin-chan to make sure that the person in front of him was really Shin-chan before winking at him.

Shin-chan just stared at him for a while before looking away with a huff.

_Ehhh? Was it not sexy enough_? _Did Shin-chan not see it?_ Takao wondered. Just then, Kise's words sounded in his mind.

"You would have to make it more obvious...obvious... obvious..." the word 'obvious' echoed in his head. Takao's face lit up. Obvious! That was it! He would have to make it more obvious because Shin-chan was too dense to see subtle stuff! Takao felt a little more cheered up and started pedaling the cart towards their school. He would make his love for Shin-chan really obvious once they reached school. For now, he had to make sure they weren't late for school.

* * *

At Shutoku...

Takao was devastated. Shin-chan had ignored his hundred and fifty-third wink that day, all in the first 3 periods! He thought he was really obvious, leaping in front of Shin-chan, hugging him tightly and making extravagant winks whenever he had to opportunity to do so. His last attempt at winking had Shin-chan asking him if he had something stuck in his eyes to which Takao hurriedly denied and his first few hugs were rewarded with a punch to his guts. Despite his earlier resolution of not giving up on Shin-chan, Takao felt his determination decreasing with every rejection of his advances.

Perhaps a rethinking of his actions was in order.

* * *

On the way to the lunch hall...

Midorima Shintaro was worried (not that he would admit it to anyone). Takao was out of sorts recently, acting like a complete loony. Going to school without him, skipping basketball practice without telling him, the weird bunny fetish he had, hugging his mother (Midorima pretended not to see it) and now this eye irritation which had him blinking like an idiot every five minutes and this love for hugging which he quickly put a stop to. Perhaps Takao needed a lucky item. He flipped open the Oha-Asa and looked for the page for Scorpio. He would force Takao to carry it with him and hopefully all this weirdness would go away. Reading up the lucky item for Takao, Midorima gave a slight nod and changed the direction he was walking to.

"Shin-chan? Where are you going? That's not the way to the lunch ha-"

"Go on without me, I'll meet you there later."

Takao sulked. Was Shin-chan trying to avoid eating lunch with him? Did he scare Shin-chan with his winks? Sighing, Takao continued his way to the lunch hall.

_I guess I'll have to eat lunch alone..._

* * *

At the lunch hall...

Takao sighed again as he sat down at an empty table. He didn't mean to scare Shin-chan away. He had followed the Guide obediently but the tips did not seem to work at all. Perhaps it was his execution of the tips... Takao sighed a third time before an idea popped into his head. He looked around the nearby tables, settling his gaze on his classmate two tables away.

"Rina-chan!" Takao called out and beckoned the girl to come over. She readily complied and walked over to him, a questioning look on her face.

"Rina-chan..." Takao repeated her name. He bent towards her and winked at her before enveloping her into a tight hug.

After hugging her, Takao took a step back and observed her reaction. Her face flushing a crimson red, Rina let out a nervous squeak as she stuttered out "Ta-takao-kun..."

That was it! That was the reaction Shin-chan was supposed to have, neither his usual stony and grumpy face nor punching Takao either. Takao grinned. So he did execute the winks and hugs correctly! It was just Shin-chan who needed to see more obvious actions! Takao made a mental note to be more daring when he saw Shin-chan later.

Humming to himself, Takao failed to notice a girl coming up to his table.

"Takao-kun, is it true that you are giving free hugs? Rina-chan said so! I want a hug!" She opened her arms wide in expectation.

"Ehh? I'm giving out free hugs?" Takao was confused. He only meant to try out his flirting techniques on someone other than Shin-chan but it seemed like Rina-chan had misunderstood.

_Oh well, it's just a hug..._ Takao thought as he smiled at the girl and hugged her.

The growing crowd around his table escaped his attention.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I'm getting rather mixed up about my chapter numbers so I'm changing 2b to 3 and so on. Sorry about that! If you are reading this, it's your fault xkaiblue! (I'm joking btw) School has kept me busy so I'm no longer writing the chapters as fast as before so updates will come slower. So, sorry about that too! Thank you for the favourites, reviews and so on, I'll continue to work hard!

Also, I would like to clarify that this is a seme Mido and uke Takao fic. Sorry for the confusion!

So here's chapter 8 (previously called chapter 7)! Read, enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke is not mine.

* * *

CHAPTER 8

At the lunch hall (Midorima's POV)

Midorima was flabbergasted. A huge crowd was making a racket around their usual table and Midorima guessed that Takao had got himself into some trouble again. And Takao being in trouble meant that Midorima would have to rescue him again. He sighed.

Not wanting to lose Takao's lucky item, he slipped it into his pocket, struggling a little to keep the mop under his left armpit.

Knowing that there was no way he could find one in school, Midorima had taken it upon himself to make the lucky item for Takao. A lot of effort was put into it, and Midorima was proud of himself for making the lucky item look aesthetically pleasing (at least in his opinion, it looked good). He was glad the lucky item wasn't a lucky person, or he would have to hunt down the person and kidnap him, which would be very troublesome.

_Takao had better appreciate it._

He made his way over to the commotion, preparing to scare the crowd away with one of his glares. Tip-toeing on his feet, Midorima peeked over the crowd to find Takao.

What he did not expect was the sight of Takao hugging every person that stepped forth, his expression seeming to be one of cheerfulness and enthusiasm. While this was the image Takao presented to the others, Midorima could tell that he was troubled. And this was where Midorima came in. With a final push, Midorima made it through the crowd.

He did not like what he saw.

Seeing Takao's arms wrapped around a tiny black-haired girl irritated him. She was clinging all over him and refusing to let go even when he attempted to pry himself free. And Midorima could say he did not like this scene one bit.

He could either wait till the girl was satisfied with the hug or pull Takao away from her slimy hands. And since Midorima was an impatient (and selfish) person, he was not going to give her the satisfaction of groping Takao when he himself have not done it ye-

_Wait what?_

Midorima stopped his thoughts. He absolutely, definitely and most certainly did not think whatever came up on his mind just now. It was most definitely his anger making him think weird thoughts. Yes, his anger made him a bit strange at times.

Striding forward with narrowed eyes, Midorima grabbed Takao and yanked him out of the girl's embrace. His hard yank earned him a cry of pain from Takao, who stared at him in shock.

"Shin-chan!" Takao cried out, his eyes becoming as wide as saucers. "Hehehe, I'm a little caught up at the moment, so can you just wait a whil-WAAH!"

Midorima did not give him the opportunity of finishing his words before dragging him out of the lunch hall.

"Shin-chan, where are we going? Don't you want to eat? Lunch is almost over!"

"Just shut up and follow me."

His hand clutching Takao's in a tight grip, Midorima brought Takao for a rather long journey throughout school before he reached his destination.

Flinging Takao into the locker rooms of the basketball club, Midorima locked the door.

* * *

At the locker rooms of Shutoku...

Takao gulped in nervousness and anxiousness. Shin-chan was angry, for whatever reason he did not know but the fact remained that Shin-chan was angry. He guessed that Shin-chan had enough of all his attempts to woo him and was going to force him to end it once and for all.

Heart sinking a little, Takao looked at Shin-chan, his mind conjuring up apologies or explanations which seemed to get worse as he went on.

"Lean in to me," Shin-chan raised his right hand.

Warning bells sounded in Takao's head. _He's going to slap me to death!_

Takao swallowed nervously, leaned a little closer to Shin-chan, and braced himself. It was hard to be solemn when the mop was still dangling between Shin-chan's armpit but Takao knew that laughing would anger Shin-chan further so he remained silent.

He closed his eyes, dreading the blow. Feeling hands on his neck, Takao panicked.

Shit, Shin-chan was going to kill him by strangulation. And he didn't even manage to declare his love for Shin-chan at least once.

Squeezing his eyes tighter than before, Takao bowed his head down. He felt tears forming at the corners of his eyes, whether it was at the fact that he was going to die or that he had failed to get Shin-chan's love or something else, he didn't know.

The hands around his neck tightened and Takao felt a weight below his neck. Surprised, he opened his eyes and looked down.

Resting on his chest was a black chain with a single but big red bead.

_A necklace? What's going on?_ Takao shot Shin-chan a questioning look.

Shin-chan had a faint blush and he glanced at the floor. "You seemed to be out of luck recently, so this is your lucky item. Wear it for the whole day."

Takao took a while to register the words coming out of Shin-chan's mouth. It was, strangely, out of character for Shin-chan to do something like this. But...

_Shin-chan gave me a lucky item. Shin-chan gave me a lucky item!_ Takao was squealing in his head and was about to break into a happy dance before he remembered the present situation and calmed himself down.

_Flirting for Dummies Tip#3:_

_Act like you are above your crush to evoke a sense of admiration from them._

Tip 3 flashed in his mind and Takao cleared his throat and straightened himself.

"Thank you. It's alright, I guess. It's kind of plain though, couldn't you have chosen a nicer looking one?", finishing his sentence, Takao waited eagerly for Shin-chan's response.

Shin-chan's eye twitched a little on hearing Takao's words. "I made it."

_Shit. SHIT. WHAT DID I JUST DO?_

"AHHH! Brilliant! Fantastically brilliant! It's a work of art, so beautiful, so...so... RED! And such perfect length, it's as if Shin-chan knew the exact size of my neck! As expected of Shin-chan's artistic talent and genius! I love it very very very much!" Takao blurted out, waving his arms wildly in his desperate attempt to reverse the situation.

"It's obvious that you dislike it." Shin-chan said rather coolly, his anger clearly fuelled by Takao's 'praise'. He reached out for Takao, intending to unclasp the necklace but Takao dodged his hands. The necklace was his now. He was not going to lose Shin-chan's present to him!

"Shin-chan, I'm really sorry! I was just joking about it being ugly. I really like it, Shin-chan! Please let me keep it!" Takao pleaded, putting on the most apologetic puppy dog eyes he could make.

_Please say yessss_

Shin-chan's expression softened. "Do not take it off."

Grinning, Takao threw his arns around Shin-chan, surprising him.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

**A/N:** So Midorima and Takao's relationship is improving xD The next member of the GoM will appear soon too~ Do review, favourite etc.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Sorry for the long update, life was really busy these few days, which brings me to the issue of what I already told some of the reviewers (on a side note, thank you for the reviews, favourites etc!), the updates will be reduced to once a week, probably on the weekends due to the mugging period starting soon. But do continue to stick with the story! I will definitely finish it! Please enjoy chapter 9 :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke!

* * *

CHAPTER 9:

The day after…

Takao was happy. Exhilarated. Estatic. Joyful. All the synonyms for happy could not describe what he was feeling now. He was quite confident that Shin-chan was, even if it was a little, starting to reciprocate his feelings. He wasn't sure which part of his wooing attempts had triggered this sudden friendlier atmosphere between the two of them but he was glad for this significant change in their relationship. Shin-chan was more receptive to his hugs now, grudgingly allowing Takao to linger on for a few seconds before shoving him off. The unobservant ones wouldn't see much difference and would say that Shin-chan was being as cold usual but Takao knew better than that.

So it was a typical morning and everything seemed so wonderful to Takao. Pedalling the cart to school, he admired the clear, blue sky, the cheerful tweeting of the birds and so on and concluded that nothing would go wrong today. He had also worn his lucky item today (he wore it every day despite Shin-chan insisting that it no longer worked) so good luck was a guarantee for him! Humming a little tune, he sped off to school, already looking forward to the day ahead.

Lessons passed, and in the blink of an eye, school was over and it was time for basketball practice. There was an upcoming practice match against XXXX High and the entire team decided not to be complacent despite knowing the chances of them losing to a beginner team. So practice went on as usual; Takao was doing what he did best, Shin-chan was shooting like the pro he was - the entire team was in top form. Everything went as well as Takao thought it would.

Takao had stopped his wooing attempts for now, deciding that he wanted a break from all the hype. It was tiring him out, putting in so much effort into every leg of his plan. He was also satisfied with the progress of their relationship, hence his willingness to place the plan on hold. Now, he could bask in the glory of this minor success in his plan to get Shin-chan's love. And boy, he was lapping up each opportunity to get close to Shin-chan indeed.

Standing outside the now empty locker rooms while waiting for Shin-chan, Takao toyed with his necklace, replaying the moment he received it over and over. Unable to help himself, Takao burst into a large grin.

"Stop it, it's creepy."

Shin-chan emerged from the locker rooms and started heading towards the section of the carpark where the cart was parked.

The pair walked across the car park in silence. It was not the awkward silence one usually felt with the silent and stoic Shin-chan, but a peaceful one where both parties were comfortable even with the lack of words. Knowing that he and Shin-chan had reached that sort of stage made Takao giddy with excitement. He closed his eyes, savouring the moment. This was perfec-

"BEEP BEEP BEEP!"

The silence was broken with the beeping of Takao's cell phone. Takao digged up his cell phone from his bag, slightly annoyed and yet curious to know who was the person who was audacious enough to break his peaceful moment with Shin-chan. He made a mental note to put the phone on silent mode the next time he and Shin-chan were alone together.

It was an unknown number. Curiously fully evoked, Takao opened the message:

_Takaocchi, I know it's late but can I meet you for a while? Alone? Someone wants to meet you. Anywhere is fine as long as it isn't far :3_

Takao could guess who the sender was from the very first word of the text. Who else other than Kise Ryouta would add a -cchi to others' names? While the suffix sounded fine with Shin-chan's name, Takaocchi sounded ridiculous to him. He snorted. So Kise and 'someone' wanted to meet him. Was it related to Shin-chan? He couldn't think of any other reason for Kise to do so. Only one thing to do, he would have to meet them to find out. Ignoring Shin-chan's questioning glance, he typed a quick reply to Kise and instructed him on where to meet.

He was curious alright, but first, he had to drop Shin-chan home.

* * *

At Maji Burger...

Entering Maji Burger, Takao scanned the area for Kise and that 'someone'. It wasn't easy to shake off Shin-chan's attempts to find out more about the message. It was hard to concentrate on the road when he could feel Shin-chan's intense glare at his back and his occasional, 'casual' questions of "Who is it?" Shin-chan did give up after his fourth attempt, and Takao was never that relieved that Shin-chan was an impatient person.

Spotting the bright and attention-grabbing blond hair sticking out from a booth, Takao made his way over and slid into the seat, muttering a casual "Yo."

"Takaocchi! You came!"

Kise cheered and gave him a megawatt smile that he probably used on girls wherever he went. Takao nodded and gave a grin before he turned his attention to the guy beside the blonde. His eyes widened.

Aomine Daiki, basketball extraordinaire and also a member of the Generation of Miracles was sprawled lazily in his seat, his left arm slinging over Kise's part of the booth. Noticing Takao's gaze on him, Aomine gave him a grunt of acknowledgement, his eyes roaming over Takao, particularly on his chest.

"You know, after telling me what Midorima's girl went to do for him, bunny suit and all, I was expecting... Someone hotter than this..."

Takao narrowed his eyes, not liking what he heard.

"I mean, she looks like a guy!"

To prove his point, Aomine reached out and grabbed Takao's chest, attempting to squeeze 'her' a few times. "Hell, she feels like one too!"

A horrified Kise pulled Aomine's hands away from a stupefied Takao, while apologizing profusely to him.

"Aominecchi! Takaocchi is a guy!"

There was silence as Aomine took in the words slowly, his eyes relaying his disbelief.

"The hell."

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter may not seem much, but it'll build up to something later on...


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hi.

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke doesn't belong to me!

* * *

CHAPTER 10

Still at Maji Burger…

Aomine Daiki ran his fingers though his dark blue hair, unsure if he should be feeling amused or shocked at the strange situation he was in. This was unexpected. Midorima's 'girl' being a guy was unexpected. Heck, Midorima having someone in love with him was unexpected! He always thought that the green-haired shooting guard was too stiff and cold to attract anyone, much less a guy!

Wait... Did that mean that Midorima was a homo?

Aomine clutched his body protectively, trying to remember if Midorima had acted strangely or pervertedly whenever they were in the showers after their basketball practice.

_Okay, maybe I'm thinking too much... Calm down, it's not like he had attacked and raped me or something. Not that I'll let him rape me._ If anyone was doing the raping, it would be Aomine himself!

_Woah I'm thinking too much! Go away, rape thoughts!_

Aomine took a deep breath to cool himself down.

Not knowing what to make of the situation, he reclined in his chair and let Kise take over the conversation.

"Ehehehe," Kise chuckled awkwardly, ruffled by Aomine's previous actions. Aomine snickered and took a long sip from his drink, his eyes still focused on Takao, assessing him.

"So as I was saying, Takaocchi likes Midorimacchi! So I lent him the flirting guide Kurokocchi gave me last time. Is it helping you, Takaocchi?"

The conversation was interrupted by loud and abrupt coughing from Aomine as he spewed out his drink. He hacked and clutched his throat in pain, moisture pooling at his eyes as Kise thumped his back frantically.

"Aominecchi! Don't die!" Kise continued thumping on Aomine's back.

"Stop stop stop!"

Aomine couldn't take the hammering on his back and pushed Kise's hands away. He shot an incredulous glance at Kise before speaking to Takao:

"As dumb as Kise is to lend you the book, I'm sure you are smart enough to discern that it obviously doesn't work."

The response from the two was startling.

"Eh? It doesn't?"

Takao and Kise echoed in unison, their faces showing their puzzlement as they turned towards a horrified Aomine.

Aomine wanted to bash his head on the table. Actually, bashing the heads of the two idiots together was a better idea; perhaps they could add some IQ to the emptiness in their heads. This was... totally idiotic! He never would have thought that someone else could stand on the equal level of Kise's stupidity. He slumped forward in his seat in exasperation, feeling at a loss at what to do.

Takao looked thoughtful.

"No wonder Shin-chan didn't fall for it! But then how did it work for you, Kise?" he directed his question at the blonde.

"Eh... I don't know... I just followed the book... Hahaha perhaps I was lucky!" Kise scratched his head and laughed.

Aomine doubted that Kise knew the extent of the effect of his looks on people (boys included). He sighed as he watched Kise attempt to figure out why did the guide work for him. Kise was definitely hopeless. On the other hand...

He glanced at Takao again. He didn't know him that well, but Aomine felt that there was hope for the guy. Takao didn't have the dumb blonde look after all... And speaking of dumb blondes, Aomine had better intervene before Kise destroyed whatever chance of a relationship between the two. But first, he had to know something.

"Why Midorima? I mean, sure, he looks good, but you should know that he is not the kind who would be involved in a relationship, much less a romantic one. Surely, there are better fish in the ocean, even if you are a hom-," at Takao's insulted look, he changed his words, "Er... I mean... bat for the other team."

At least Aomine looked slightly sheepish at his slip-up, or Takao would find it hard to not dislike him. The earlier spectacle did not impress him one bit.

_Who gropes someone at their first meeting?_ Takao thought dryly, opening his mouth to reply:

"I can't tell you the why exactly...I don't really know myself... I know Shin-chan is not the kind of person that people will like but there's just something about him... that attracts me... And Shin-chan's really nice inside, he is just shy and too busy being a tsundere to show his nice side! So please don't think badly of Shin-chan!"

Saying that, Takao's head bowed down as he attempted to hide his growing blush.

From Takao's reaction, Aomine could tell that Takao really liked his 'Shin-chan'. Deciding to tease the point guard a little more, he asked:

"Hows your plan then? Have you two done it yet? Was it good?" He smirked at the red which crept into Takao's face, ignoring the indignant "Aominecchi!" from a flustered Kise.

Takao looked contemplative for a moment before he sighed.

_Looks like it's not going well._

"I guess I made some progress, Shin-chan lets me hug him now!" He beamed at the impressed pair opposite him and continued, "But nothing much has changed... I don't know if Shin-chan is truly aware of my feelings or not."

Despite what Takao thought, Aomine was proud of him. Persuading the unfriendly Midorima to allow hugs was not an easy feat but he had managed to do so. He had some respect for him now. Also, judging from his character, Takao would be a suitable partner for Midorima. He supposed Midorima was lucky to be able to find a person who would accept him, his weird horoscope habits and all.

All right, he decided that he would play cupid for them! This would be interesting to watch. And he was bored and free anyway so being a little busybody wouldn't hurt. Several ideas crept into his mind, some not exactly decent but Aomine knew the best way for the two to get together.

"Do you know why nothing has progressed? It's because you two are not close enough. You two need to bond more and I have just the thing for you!"

He reached into his bag and pulled out a stack of DVDs, holding them up to Takao.

"Basketball training videos! You and Midorima can practise the moves shown in these with each other. This would definitely help you two and a great time is assured!" The triumphant grin on Aomine's face showed his pride in his idea.

"Aominecchi! I thought you found basketball practice a waste of time? Why would you have such videos?"

Damn, why did Kise had to be so perceptive at the the wrong moment? Aomine pointedly ignored the blonde and pushed the DVDs into Takao's hands.

Takao's face lit up and he nodded his head in excitement. Of course! It was so simple, why didn't he think of it before? The one thing he and Shin-chan had in common, a love for basketball, would definitely bring them closer together! He clasped the DVDs tightly, feeling grateful to Aomine for this valuable piece of advice.

Perhaps this would be the breakthrough in their relationship!

* * *

**A/N:** A little slow-paced here but it'll pick up later~ Do review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to me.

* * *

CHAPTER 11

Shutoku...

"Shin-chan! Can I come over to your house tonight? I have some basketball practice videos we can watch! And then we can practise the moves together!"

"No."

That straight no was unexpected. Takao tried again.

"Why not? Shin-chan, let's watch basketball together! Come on, it'll be fun! Pleaseeeeeee?"

"No. I have no need for these amateur videos."

Takao felt his temper rising slightly. Was Shin-chan unable to see his good intentions? All he wanted was for them to bond together. Wasn't Shin-chan supposed to be friendlier and accommodating now? And if Takao could have his way, accommodating would mean that they would be all hugs and love now.

But Shin-chan's expression didn't change, indicating his stand on the matter.

Fine then, if Shin-chan was going to be stubborn, then Takao would be too! He was going to badger Shin-chan into submission!

"Shin-channnnnnnnnn Shin-channnnnnnnnnnnn pleaseeeeeeeeeeee. It'll be greatttttt Shin-channnn..."

Knowing that it would irritate the shooter, Takao dragged his pleas and nudged Shin-chan every few seconds.

"Shinnnnnnnnnnnnnn-chaaaaannnnnnnnnnn, Shinnnnnnn-chaaaaaaannnnnn-owww!"

Takao howled in pain from the whack Midorima gave him and clutched his head, and sniffled pitifully, his eyes tearing up a little.

A tick appeared on Shin-chan's forehead and Takao knew he had won. Cheering, he leapt on Shin-chan, ignoring his yelps as he toppled the both of them over.

A closer relationship was in sight!

* * *

Midorima's house...

The ride to Shin-chan's house was silent. Shin-chan was grumpier than usual, probably because he just lost the battle of wills against Takao. But that didn't matter, for Shin-chan was sure to be all happy and friendly again when they got down to practising.

Parking the cart in front of Shin-chan's house, Takao all but jumped out of his seat, running to the door in excitement. A small chuckle came from Shin-chan.

"You are like an overexcited kid, you know."

Takao grinned, stuck out his tongue at him and stepped into the house. Shin-chan's parents were out again, he noticed as he removed his shoes.

Recalling the recent incident in hallway, Takao blushed slightly as he walked along the hallway into the living room.

He flopped down on the dark green sofa in the middle of the room, took out the DVDs and leafed through them.

_Let's see... Which one should we watch?_

A can plunked on the table in front of him interrupted his thoughts. Takao looked up. Shin-chan was opening his usual can of Shiruko and he sat down next to Takao, clearly waiting for him to start the video.

All of the DVDs had no title on their covers so Takao picked the last one from the stack and walked over to the DVD player.

He popped the disc in the player and returned to his position on the sofa. Shin-chan tossed the remote control to him and he started the video.

The opening credits were bright pink and they stood out against the white background. Funky music blared from the speakers and Takao wondered if this was supposed to be a training video or a movie. Flashing words caught his eye:

_Warning:__  
For mature audience only. Rated for ages 21 and up._

Shin-chan snorted. "Must there be ratings for a training video? If that's the case, we are underaged."

Takao merely shrugged, bewildered by the strangeness of the video. If Aomine watched it, then it shouldn't be a problem for them too.

The screen dimmed to black, and the pair watched as the screen lit up and music started again, this time a slow, jazzy number.

They watched as the video started showing sweaty bodies of muscled men and hour-glass figures of women. Shin-chan raised an eyebrow at him and Takao shrugged. They probably wanted to show how playing basketball made a person really fit.

The screen dimmed again, and squeaking noises were heard.

'Probably the sound of basketball shoes.' Takao thought and relaxed in his seat.

_Okay! The actual learning begins no-_

His thoughts were interrupted with a sharp, feminine cry.

The pair were frozen in place as loud cries of "Ahhh!", "More!" and "Harder!" filled the living room. The squeaking got louder and this time, sloppy, slapping noises were also heard.

Midorima was speechless. Takao even more so.

The screen lit up again, the visuals confirming what was implied through the noises. Both their eyes widened as they were treated to an explicit sight.

This was totally not happening. Was he stuck in his fantasies or something? Weren't they watching a basketball training video?

He snapped out of his daze and turned to Shin-chan, desperately thinking of a reason to explain why the heck he was showing Shin-chan porn. He couldn't let this mistake this get into the way of his relationship with Shin-chan.

_Stupid, stupid Aomine!_

Shin-chan's expression stopped him from opening his mouth. Takao felt a sense of dread creeping in his bones.

It was an expression of incredulity and pure anger. He probably thought Takao was mocking him. Takao had never seen this level of Shin-chan's anger before and he was afraid.

"Shin-chan, I can explain..."

_Explain what?_ He didn't have any explanation at hand. Nor did he have a clue why the supposed training videos were porn.

* * *

Midorima watched coolly as Takao's struggled to come up with an explanation. He felt nothing but anger in his veins right now.

_So Takao thought that he could make use of my relenting behaviour to make fun of me._

How terrible. He was foolish to trust that Takao genuinely wanted to spend time with him.

Standing up from the sofa, Midorima walked to the DVD player calmly, and ejected the disc.

Tossing it back at Takao, who fumbled to catch it, Midorima shot a cold, steely gaze at Takao.

"Get out."

* * *

The words were icy and cutting, and it clearly was an order for him leave. Takao knew not to anger Shin-chan further.

Scrambling to his feet, Takao threw the DVDs into the bag and dashed out of the living room, feeling hot tears at the corner of his eyes but willing himself not to cry.

He slammed the door of Shin-chan's house and sank down to the ground, hands clutching his necklace for comfort.

_Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry._

_It's okay... Shin-chan is just a little angry. Everything will go back to usual tomorrow._

Yes, just like their usual fights where Shin-chan would forgive him the day after and everything was well. Takao will continue being all lovey-dovey with Shin-chan and Shin-chan will be the typical tsundere he is. Everything would be alright.

But the small voice in his head told him:

_As if._

He really screwed up this time, didn't he? If only he had checked the videos before...

Feeling at a loss at what to do, Takao wrapped his arms around his knees and cried.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, honestly speaking, I have no idea what's in porn tapes so you all have to bear with this description…


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kuroko no Basuke!

* * *

CHAPTER 12:

3 days later...

This distance hurts.

Three days have already passed and Shin-chan still refuses to speak to him. He no longer goes to school with Takao either, leaving his home early so as to avoid him.

Its even worse at school, Shin-chan no longer hangs out with him or even spares him a glance. Takao is alone during lunch too; Shin-chan leaves the class immediately when the bell rings, leaving him to idle alone in class.

Despite his hopes, nothing changes during basketball practice, Shin-chan seems to be running away from him instead of coming to receive the ball and this earns them both a scolding from the irate coach. However, the reprimanding is ineffective; the poor play continues and nothing productive comes out of practice. Takao can feel the disappointment of his team mates at the end of the recent practices.

Takao hates this.

He is so desperate for any type of communication to the point of him asking Shin-chan for the date.  
But his pathetic efforts fail to achieve any reaction and Takao gets more and more devastated each day. He tries his best to think of ways to talk to Shin-chan but each solution pales in comparison to the previous one.

Takao is so desperate to repair their friendship; he doesn't care about wooing Shin-chan anymore. Lovers be damned, he just wants Shin-chan back. All he asks for is to have Shin-chan back as a friend.

The journeys to school alone gave him some time to reflect. Takao knows that Aomine is not to be blamed entirely for this situation. Sure, Aomine did lie to him about the videos, but he did it out of goodwill and Takao knows that if he had double-checked the videos himself, this situation would not have happened. He blames his habit to jump into things without thinking.

So this time, he thinks. He doesn't go to find Aomine, to rage, scream, beat him up so as to release his feelings. It was pointless. What was done was done.

He laments the complete irony. In attempting to better their relationship, he turned it back to square one.

Kise calls him too, but Takao ignores them, knowing that the blonde would want to check on their relationship. He feels guilty about not replying but he doesn't feel like telling anyone about the incident. It was embarrassing and heart-breaking to recall the incident so it was better to keep quiet about the matter. Perhaps Kise would leave him alone and let Takao solve this problem himself.

Easier said than done. The problem was how exactly.

The days go on, the distance persists, and Takao still doesn't know what to do. He feels so empty, so lost, like he has lost his purpose for living. It sounds far-fetched, but that was exactly what Takao feels like.

So the days without Shin-chan carry on.

But what Takao doesn't know, is that a few weeks later, something will change.

* * *

Weeks later...

It was a surprise when a certain blonde appeared at his school gate after school, with a certain dark-blue haired ace at his side. Takao was glad for the crowd of fangirls hiding him from view as he tried to sneak pass the pair, not wanting to talk to anyone. However, Kise was not to be underestimated, for he caught sight of Takao amongst the sea of squealing, giggling girls.

"Takaocchi! Over here!"

Kise grinned and beckoned him over. Takao sighed and slowly trudged back to the pair, dreading the confrontation. The crowd, however, prevented him from moving any inch towards them. He gestured exasperatedly at Kise, who understood and nodded.

Kise said something to the fangirls, and to Takao's amazement, they parted like the sea to create an entrance for him.  
_  
__I guess they really love Kise..._

He mumbled greetings to the pair and waited for Kise to start the conversation.

"Why didn't you answer my calls, Takaocchi? We were so worried!" Kise cried out, ignoring a spluttering Aomine.

"I wasn't worried! I only wanted to check the results of my brilliant plan!" Aomine injected, only to fall silent upon seeing Takao flinching at his words.

The mood turned solemn. Aomine, realising the reason for Takao's glumness, lowered his head guiltily. Kise caught on as well, and he placed his hand on Takao's shoulder gingerly.

"Would you like to tell us what happened?" Kise ventured carefully, his eyes narrowing accusingly at Aomine.

Takao shook his head, his shoulders slumping.

Glancing at each other, Kise and Aomine communicated a silent agreement through their eyes.

They obviously had to do something.

And it was clear that their main priority was to cheer Takao up.

* * *

**A/N:** Really short chapter... Sorry about this... And it took so long to come up with it too -.-''


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Hello, I wanted to make up for the long wait for the previous chapter which was really short. So here is the next chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke!

* * *

CHAPTER 13:

At some basketball court...

Huffing and panting, Takao glared at Kise and Aomine. He thought he would be free of them once he ended the conversation but no, they had to ignore his screams of protest and drag him down the streets all the way to some random basketball court.

He frowned and crossed his arms. Apparently his current state of delicateness and self-pity failed to show his lack of mood for playing. Well then, since they were so stubborn, Takao would be stubborn too. He was going to stand right there, at that very spot he was at right now, and not play at al-

A ball whizzing past his ear jolted him out of his reverie, and he glared at the offending person who had thrown it.

Aomine returned his glare with a stare of his own, clearly giving a silent order for him to play. Kise added noise to the persuasion, tugging Takao's shirt and shouting "Play, Takaocchi, play!"

This intense staring match with its annoying sound effects went on for a while. Takao wondered how long they would be standing there and how long was Kise able to keep up his shouting if no one gave in.

He was not going to give in. He was not.

The staring and shouting continued. It seemed as if the two would not give in either.

_Those stubborn people!_

The staring intensified, and the shouting got louder.

_...I guess I'm not going to be left alone unless I play huh..._

Sighing, Takao turned and ran to grab the ball, choosing to ignore the loud cheer and arrogant "hmpf" from Kise and Aomine respectively. He gave a half-hearted toss to Aomine, hoping that the pathetic display would deter them from playing.

The ball gave a few tiny bounces before rolling to a stop at Kise's feet.

Aomine exploded.

"What kind of shit attempt is this? You may be feeling sad and yes, it was my fault for all this but no one except us is going to care about you so show some gratitude, you little shit!" Aomine grabbed a fistful of Takao's uniform and shook him roughly, shaking off Kise's attempts to stop him.

Takao felt dizzy from all the shaking and tore himself away from Aomine, unable to take the harshness of Aomine's words.

It was simply terrific of Aomine to rub salt onto his wound. He was supposed to be grateful for this?

Fine, if they wanted him to be happy, he would give them what they want.

He shrugged off his gakuran and threw it on the ground. Faking a huge smile, Takao raced forward to steal the ball from Kise, stunning him in the process. He dribbled the ball towards the hoop, but was intercepted by a smirking Aomine. Takao could feel his competitive streak growing as Aomine ran off with the ball and aimed a throw at the hoop.

Despite the awkward angle of the throw, the ball went in.

Takao grimaced. He had almost forgotten who he was up against. Underestimating the Generation of Miracles would be a very bad decision.

Taking a deep breath, he charged forward.

* * *

After the game...

He had lost.

It was expected, but Takao couldn't help but feel sore about it. He was up against two of the Generation of Miracles for goodness sake! Takao knew his ability was nowhere near their standard. It was by sheer coincidence that he was able to even talk to them in the first place, let alone play them. He sighed.

If only Shin-chan was there to partner him. He might have stood a slightly better chance of going against them. Playing with Kise and Aomine didn't feel right. Sure, they were fun and presented a challenge to Takao, but Takao felt that something was lacking. Having grown accustomed to having Shin-chan as his partner, Takao felt that playing alone was... lonely. Takao clutched his necklace tightly.

There, he did it again, letting his mind fixate too much on Shin-chan.

_Time to change the topic!_

"Trying to cheer me up with basketball won't work if I keep getting thrashed by you two."

Kise and Aomine frowned. Takao had a point. The game had mostly consisted of Takao helplessly running around trying to stop them from scoring like mad. The dumbfounded realisation of the two was amusing to watch, and Takao chuckled, still fondling the single bead on his necklace.

Kise, curiosity now aroused, asked:

"Is that necklace important? You seem to love it a lot."

Takao's breath hitched and Kise panicked on seeing his downcast face.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I was just curious!"

"Shin-chan gave it to me. It's my lucky item."

Kise looked stunned at this piece of information and he opened his mouth to say something but Aomine cut in.

"That," he prodded the bead, "is evidence of Midorima's feelings for you. Don't put yourself so low, Midorima clearly treats you as someone special. Why, he never gives me any lucky items!" Aomine jokingly put on an outraged expression.

Takao felt his heart stirring and his hope was growing again.

_Aomine isn't that bad of a guy after all..._

"Thank you, I'm alright now," he smiled at the pair. "Really," he added as the pair continued to observe him cautiously.

"It's true! I'm all happy and stuff, knowing that Shin-chan feels something for me! So what's the plan now?" Takao asked. It was true; he did feel a little better now.

Kise and Aomine were silent. They were clueless as well, for they had not expected Takao to cheer up that quickly.

"Er... We... Think of ways to get you two together again! They say two heads are better than one, right? Our combined idea will definitely succeed!"

Takao resisted the urge to point out that there were actually three of them now. Kise was getting pumped up, his hands flailing around in his excitement, almost knocking into an unimpressed Aomine.

"And how do you suppose we do that? Midorima's angry, remember?"

That got Kise to quieten down, and he looked contemplative. The trio stood in silence for a long time before Aomine nudged Kise.

"How about him?"

The vague question confused Kise, who went "How about who?"

"That guy!" Aomine seemed irritated.

"Who's that guy?" Kise was confused and Aomine grew even more annoyed.

This manner of conversation went on for a while, seemingly similar to the previous staring contest. Takao yawned and checked the time. It was best to let the idiot couple sort things out themselves. And he didn't know who 'that guy' was anyway.

10 minutes passed, they were still beating around the bush. Takao tapped his foot impatiently.

20 minutes passed, nothing had progressed. Takao felt his irritation growing along with Aomine's.

* * *

30 minutes later, same random basketball court

"Akashi! It's Akashi! We should ask Akashi, you slow idiot! Akashi always knows what to do!" Aomine threw his hands up in exasperation.

Takao's eyes widened.

Akashi Seijuurou, the famed captain and point guard of the Generation of Miracles? The guy Takao had admired for ages and had always wanted to talk to? They wanted him to ask for advice from him?

Takao's heart beat faster and his eyes sparkled, scaring Kise and Aomine. He clasped his hands together eagerly and nodded his head vigorously to indicate his approval.

To get advice from his idol! This was a dream! It was all he could ever hope for (other than Shin-chan, of course)! And since he was Akashi Seijuurou, his advice was surely reliable!

Relieved at Takao's approval, Aomine grinned. Kise's worried look went unnoticed by the two.

"Alright, let's go find Akashi!"

* * *

**A/N:** Akashi is next! I don't know if what'll happen next is predictable or not but stay tuned~


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kuroko no Basuke!

* * *

CHAPTER 14:

"I don't wanna! Why must I call him? You're the one who suggested asking Akashi!"

Takao winced. Kise's howls were loud and headache-inducing. Aomine simply ignored his outburst and carried on staring at Kise, his impatience clearly showing.

Kise's howls turned to whines.

Takao was beginning to have second thoughts about Akashi Seijuurou. What kind of person was he to have made Kise so averse to meeting him?

Kise was clinging fearfully onto Aomine's waist now, and it would have made an adorable sight, but his pitiful sobs made Takao feel a little guilty for causing him such distress.

Perhaps he shouldn't create trouble for the two after all... They had already helped him a lot.

He opened his mouth, intending to decline the pair for their offer, but closed it on seeing Aomine's disapproving glare.

_I know how to handle him._ Aomine mouthed.

Seeing Aomine's confidence, Takao backed down.

After much persuasion (and a little threatening on Aomine's part), a sobbing and reluctant Kise was forced to call Akashi. His hand shaking as he brought the cell phone to his ears, Kise glanced at Aomine pleadingly, his puppy dog eyes seemed to have been magnified a million times. It was too late though, the call connected.

"Ryouta."

"Akashicchi... Aominecchi's bullying me..." Kise started but cut off his speech, feeling the intensity of Aomine's glare increasing. His expression turned serious.

"Do you know Takaocchi?"

There was silence. Akashi seemed to be contemplating on whether to dignify him with an answer.

"Yes, I've heard of Shintaro's partner."

"He has a serious problem... *sob*... We desperately need your advice... *sob* Can we come over to your house, please?" Kise hiccuped, his sobs gradually subsiding.

"... I don't see why not."

Kise gave a brief nod at the pair to indicate Akashi's permission and Aomine grinned.

Aomine didn't know what to make of roping Akashi into the plan, but it was definitely going to be an interesting experience.

He did hope that Akashi wouldn't make things worse though.

* * *

On a train...

The train ride was really long. The three of them had sat in awkward silence from the very first stop. Takao found it rather nerve wrecking; it wasn't as if they had become best friends all of a sudden and would start holding hands and stuff. He would rather wear the bunny suit again than hold hands with them anyway. The only one he wanted to hold hands with was Shin-chan!

The time passed and all was silent except for Aomine's sonorous snores. Takao felt himself being lured to sleep as well.

He was halfway through dozing off but was rudely awakened by a jab to the ribs. He hissed in pain and turned to his left. Kise grinned innocently and scooted closer to him.

"Is Midorimacchi your first crush?"

Takao blushed furiously and nodded, silently cursing Kise for being nosy and disturbing him from his beauty sleep.

Kise nodded in approval and patted Takao's shoulder.

"Ahh~ First loves never work out..."

Takao frowned. Realising his slip, Kise tried to retract his words.

"It'll work out, I promise! Aominecchi and I will do our best to help you! Right, Aominecchi?" This time, he gave a jab to Aomine, who leapt out of his seat with a yelp.

Aomine's angry curses were drowned out with the other two's laughter.

_This is fun_.

That was what ran through Takao's mind, as he laughed along with Kise.

Being alone for the past few weeks must have hit him harder than he thought. He missed being in the company of people.

He could get used to this.

* * *

Rakuzan High...

Akashi's school was definitely special. It was one of those high-class boarding schools only the elite could afford to go. The trio gawked in amazement at their surroundings. To call this place a school... That was really understating it. There was even a security checkpoint for goodness sake!

The trio headed for the lift lobby after wandering around like lost puppies for what seemed like forever. Rakuzan High was enormous! Akashi had given Kise directions to his room, clearly expecting them to find it themselves but it was impossible to navigate the vastness of the school. It was only with the help of a kind soul, a mousy little girl, that they managed to find the dorm Akashi was residing in.

The lift door opened and the trio stepped out. Something caught Aomine's eye and he headed in the direction of one of the rooms. He stopped at a certain room, how he knew it was Akashi's room, Takao didn't know.

He understood when he saw the room.

Akashi's room... was different... It was easily noticed simply because the door was different. While other dorms had usual wooden doors, Akashi's door was... a screen door, the kind that was usually found in traditional Japanese homes.

Well, that was strange. Takao felt like he was in front of a portal to an other-worldly dimension. The door stuck out like a sore thumb, its presence making the other doors pale in comparison.

Kise and Aomine stood outside the room tentatively. Both exchanging glances and daring the other to do something in a silent battle of wills.

It seemed that Aomine had lost, for he sighed and opened the door. The trio stepped in the room and stood at the entrance, waiting for something to happen. Takao took the time to scan through the room, slowly taking in the surroundings.

Akashi's room was, just like his door, Japanese-styled, and like most traditional homes, it eluded a serene and tranquil atmosphere. The room was dim and filled with posters of scissors but Takao paid no heed to those. All he cared about was to catch a sight of his idol.

Soft footsteps sounded against the floor as the owner of the room appeared, dressed in the casual uniform of the school.

"Daiki, Ryouta."

Akashi Seijuurou looked at the pair, his impassive face not giving any indication of his thoughts. Despite knowing that he was being ignored, Takao's heart sped up as he drank in the sight of his idol. In his excitement, he went forward and clasped Akashi's hands, shaking them up and down vigorously.

"Hello, er... how should I address you? Er… Akashi-sama? I'm Takao Kazunari from Shutoku High and I'm a huge fan of yours! You are just too good a point guard! It's always been my dream to meet you face to face!"

Aomine slapped his palm to his head and Kise let out a strangled cry.

_Trust Takao to be so straightforward!_

Akashi seemed to have gained an interest in his self-proclaimed fan and smiled, clearly amused at him. Removing his hands from Takao, Akashi headed into the back of the room and sat himself at the table. Aomine and Kise sat down as well, so Takao followed suit.

Pin-drop silence at the table ensued, as Akashi looked off in the distance. He seemed to be in deep thought. To Takao's surprise, Aomine and Kise remained silent, their heads even bowing slightly.

After what seemed to Takao like eternity, Akashi returned to reality and opened his mouth to speak:

"Kazunari, since you are such a great fan of mine, I have no issues with you dating Shintaro."

* * *

**A/N: **Ahhhhh I have no idea if I made Akashi too OOC here since his character is still much of a mystery… I hope it doesn't deter you all from reading though...


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke!

* * *

CHAPTER 15:

Akashi's room...

Kise and Aomine let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. This was good, it meant Takao was accepted.

Takao beamed, his heart swelling with joy at the sound of his given name coming from Akashi's lips. He nodded eagerly and leant forward, as if trying to collect every drop of wisdom pouring out from Akashi's mouth.

Aomine could see that Akashi was clearly enjoying the additional adoration he gained from just using Takao's name. He felt a little sorry for Takao.

"I heard about your continuous failures in trying to woo Shintaro. And this time, you even managed to get him angry at you. And of course, we must not forget the wonderful help you received from my players."

Takao visibly slumped at this comment; Aomine thought he could see imaginary puppy ears drooping. He remained silent.

"I know my attempts were a constant failure but this time, I'm asking the great you for advice! Surely, you must have some sagely plan for Shin-chan to forgive and love me!"

Akashi's ego was severely inflated by Takao, and he nodded in approval at Takao's words.

"Go on, tell me more about myself."

Takao was delighted at this opportunity to interact with Akashi, and he started a long appraisal of the red-head.

"I've read about you in magazines, about how you've always won, your excellent point guard skills, your striking eyes which glint in a mysterious way, your flaming red hair showing how passionate you are..."

The praising went on for quite a while. Aomine and Kise thought their ears were going to fall off. Who exactly was Takao in love with?

Takao seemed to have a thesaurus in his head; the words escaping his mouth were all beautiful and flowery and honestly, it was kind of nauseating.

Satisfied with the fuel Takao fed to his already enormous and still growing ego, Akashi cut him off:

"Thank you, Kazunari, for the wonderful description of me. It was gratifying to hear such compliments. Now, back to the problem. My plan is fool proof. It will allow you to taste victory if you follow it obediently."

Takao moved nearer to Akashi, whipping out a pen and notebook and got ready to write.

_Where the heck did that notebook come from?!_

Aomine and Kise wondered incredulously, but continued to pay attention to Akashi.

"Your methods were all foolishly simple. That is why you have failed." Akashi intoned, ignoring Takao's furious scribbling.

"If I were you, I would do it my way..."

Akashi paused, as if for dramatic effect. The trio were on tenterhooks now, and they strained their ears to hear his words.

"I'll threaten him."

Kise would have fallen off his chair if he wasn't seated on the floor.

* * *

The next day...

The quartet (Akashi had joined them, wanting to see the fruits of his labour), waited until school was over before putting their plan (codenamed Akashi-sama's Brilliant Plan: Threaten Shintaro/Shin-chan) into action. Aomine and Kise had raised their eyebrows at the suggestion but one look from Akashi had them agreeing and praising the ingenuity of the plan.

So Takao was standing in front of Shin-chan's house, with the trio hiding behind the bushes. He ran over the lines Akashi had coached him to say the day before and clutched the secret weapon Akashi had presented to him. Akashi was so confident and sure of himself and Takao was swayed into believing the plan would work too.

He glanced back at his friends (Were they friends now? Comrades? Fellow planners?). Kise gave him a thumbs up and Aomine nodded encouraging. Akashi just stared at him intently but Takao hoped he was rooting for him in his heart.

He took a few deep breaths, stepped to the door and knocked a few times.

There was no answer. Takao was about to knock again when the door opened. Shin-chan looked out, and faltered at the sight of him.

_Shin-chan..._ He had missed him so much...

Shin-chan's gaze travelled all over him, before resting at the necklace at Takao's throat. He suddenly seemed to remember his anger and rearranged his face into a glare at Takao.

"What?"

Takao was about go into a long apology for everything he had done but he remembered his purpose in coming here.

"Go out with me. Or else..."

Seeing Shin-chan had made him disoriented and Takao struggled to remember his lines.

He jumped straight to the most memorable part of the lines. He took the secret weapon, Akashi's red scissors, out and waved it threateningly at Shin-chan.

"I-I'll stab you!"

Aomine let out a large groan and Akashi twitched, a little angry at Takao for screwing up his plan.

Shin-chan's face twisted into one of confusion and slight irritation. How dare Takao threaten him? And why did that scissors look so familiar?

"You're crazy. I thought you were here to apologise and I may even forgive you but you threaten me and sprout gibberish instead. So my answer to you is no."

With that, Midorima slammed the door shut.

Takao sighed. He was getting used to this by now.

The door opened, and Shin-chan's head poked out. Takao felt a tiny ray of hope.

"By the way, I don't know how Akashi was involved but that's my scissors you're holding." He plucked the scissors out of Takao's hand and slammed the door shut again.

Akashi-sama's Brilliant Plan: Threaten Shintaro/ Shin-chan had failed.

* * *

Maji Burger...

The quartet entered Maji Burger and it was Takao who spotted two familiar figures in a booth at the corner.

"You guys!" This was followed by Kise's "Kurokocchi, Kagamicchi!"

He and Kise headed to the booth the pair was seated in and squeezed in, earning an enraged "What are you doing!?" from Kagami. The other two slid in as well.

It felt as awkward as hell. Kagami, Takao and Aomine were seated on one side facing Kuroko, Akashi (Kise had stood up to allow Akashi to go in first) and Kise. Both Kuroko and Kise tried to make Akashi as comfortable as possible, leaving a giant space around him for him to move freely.

The entire booth was silent and the members of the Generation of Miracles looked at Akashi expectantly. Now Takao felt out of place. He looked at the other non-member Kagami. Seirin's ace was silently fuming. Probably because they had rudely interrupted his date with Kuroko. Takao snickered.

After a while, (Akashi seemed to like having long pauses of silence) Akashi started speaking:

"We have gathered here to discuss the unexpected failure of the plan. Kazunari, I am disappointed in you. You have failed to execute the plan correctly and you also allowed Shintaro to take my scissors away. It's no wonder why your plans always fail. But since you are such a hardcore fan of mine, I shall forgive you this time. Now, I would like to hear comments on this turn of events."

Kuroko spoke up:

"It's probably Aomine-kun's fault."

Aomine spluttered: "What?! Tetsu! You don't even know what's going on!"

Kise nodded in agreement at Kuroko's words and Kagami snickered.

"And what are you laughing about? BAKAgami!"

This quickly escalated into a name-calling session of "Bakagami"s and "Ahomine"s between the two aces with Kise cheering them on.

"Silence."

That one word from Akashi was enough to stop the commotion. Aomine stopped his name-calling, Kise stopped cheering and Kagami, having learnt from his previous encounter with Akashi, stopped as well.

"Since everyone agrees, Daiki will fix the mess he has created. I want it done tomorrow after school. Everyone is to be present to witness this. The meeting is adjourned."

Aomine wanted to protest, but thought the better of it. It was impossible to go against Akashi after all.

He knew he had to plan something good tomorrow or it would be the end for him, Akashi would make sure of that.

* * *

**A/N:** Hi I don't know how many of you all can tell, but CAAHI (my nickname for this fic :P) is coming to an end. I'm trying to finish this before I start revision so expect the chapters to be coming pretty quickly. Do look forward to reading the end!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **The second last chapter of CAAHI! I'm gonna be sad letting this fic go ;_;

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke!

* * *

CHAPTER 16:

After school at Shutoku...

The entire group had gathered at the gate on time with the exception of Kise, who was tasked to get Midorima. The new additions to their group were there as well; Kagami was fuming, probably because he was dragged there by Aomine on Akashi's orders and Kuroko was being as blank as usual.

A little put off by Kagami's presence, Aomine shuffled his feet uncomfortably. He was dreading what was about to take place. He had stayed up late last night to plan his speech to Midorima and he hoped it was enough to convince the stubborn greenhead to forgive Takao. Reviewing the speech for the eighty-ninth time that day and Aomine felt that he almost had the gist of it at the back of his head. Akashi would be so proud of him!

Speaking of the redhead, he was at the head of the group observing everyone. Feeling Aomine's eyes on him, Akashi swerved his gaze to him. There was a threat in those eyes, telling him to accomplish his task well or die. Aomine gulped.

Takao was standing around like a lost sheep, for everyone seemed to be preoccupied with the others. Akashi beckoned him to stand beside him at the front.

"Today, we are here to witness Daiki's atonement to Kazunari," he laid a hand on Takao's shoulder. "He is going to make Shintaro forgive Kazunari. There is only room for victory. Do you understand, Daiki?"

Akashi's words were laced with threat. Aomine nodded nervously. Hell, it would be better if all he had to do was play basketball with Midorima. He would win hands down, that was for sure. Unfortunately for him, basketball wasn't the case right now. A stubborn Midorima was.

As unwilling as he was to do what he was about to do, he knew that he had to take responsibility. He tapped his foot impatiently, wanting to get the whole thing over with.

Everything should go right this time.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the hallway...

Midorima was just about to leave the classroom and head home when a familiar and unwelcomed voice called out to him amidst the cheers and fangirl screams.

"Midorimacchi! Over here!"

He frowned. This meant trouble. He turned away, thinking of hurrying down the hall in order to avoid the owner of the voice.

Said owner was busy trying to untangle himself from his crazily screaming fangirls. Which was good. It would allow Midorima to escape.

In the midst of his discreet brisk-walk, he failed to see the potato sack coming.

* * *

At some secluded part of Shutoku...

Kise's placating voice and Midorma's angry cries signalled their arrival and the rough scraping sounds the potato sack made against the floor had most of the group members wincing.

The rest were signalled to hide save for Takao and Aomine and the sack containing Midorima. Takao rushed to the writhing sack and got a furious Midorima out.

"Takao! What nonsense are you trying to pull again?! This is the last straw!" Midorima spat out his words as he readjusted his glasses and rubbed the bruises he had gained from being dragged about in the sack. His anger seemed to amplify on seeing Aomine.

Kise was slightly sheepish. "Oops, I didn't mean to make him angry... I didn't know how else to bring him here." He scratched his head and stuck his tongue out in embarrassment.

"It's okay, Ryouta, the end justifies the means." Akashi soothed him.

Midorima was enraged, that was for sure, he advanced threateningly to Takao, raising his unoccupied hand as if to hit him. Takao closed his eyes in resignation.

To his surprise, he was not hit. Instead, the necklace gracing his throat was ripped out and flung to the ground. Takao felt only coldness spreading in him.

"This ends whatever we had, friendship, partnership, whatever you call it. It's over. Now get out of my sight." Shin-chan muttered, his voice calm and controlled, and turned to leave.

Tears welled up in Takao's eyes. He was really an emotional wreck over Shin-chan, wasn't he? Despite his want to salvage the situation, nothing came out of his mouth. He watched numbly as Midorima walked away.

"It's not his fault."

The group watched as Aomine, stern expression in place, stood in front of Midorima to block his way.

"And what's it to you? You don't even know Takao in the first place." Midorima retorted, a sneer appearing on his face.

Aomine felt his temper rising. He took a step towards Midorima intimidatingly, his meticulously prepared speech thrown out of the window.

"I know him more than the heartless you who doesn't give a damn about his feelings. At least I can tell of his feelings for you. Who do you think was with him when he was hurt repeatedly by your idiotic stubbornness? I can tell you, it's definitely not you."

Aomine was ranting now, his anger increasing with every word.

"Takao tried really hard; the bunny suit, flirting and the other stuff? They were all his efforts to make you like him but you were blind to it all. I don't get it. You obviously like him. The damn necklace is proof of that. So why deny that you feel something for him? Are you ashamed of being gay?"

Midorima seemed frozen in place as Aomine's words registered in him. A blush took over his features as he protested:

"I-I don't feel anything for him! He's just my slave! That necklace is just his lucky item to cure him of his craziness! And I'm not gay!"

The entire audience behind the bushes facepalmed. Midorima was really an extreme tsundere!

"Exactly! This is the problem! Look at the extent of your stubbornness! You are so obviously in love with Takao! Why are you denying your own feelings? Takao reciprocates so what's the problem? Hell, if you'll just accept him, you two would have been happy ages ago!"

Midorima remained silent, still stunned by Aomine. Takao on the other hand, was horrified. Aomine had just directly confessed his (meaning Takao's) feelings to Shin-chan! He covered his face in embarrassment, peeking through his fingers to gauge Midorima's reaction.

Midorima forced out a laugh:

"That's one of the most absurd things I've ever heard. I'm not gay. And I don't like Takao. This conversation has ended. Goodbye." With that, he turned to resume walking, stirring a few groans from the disappointed audience.

Takao didn't know where he found his courage. All he knew was that he had to stop Shin-chan from leaving. He lunged at the greenhead and they both dropped on the ground with a large thump. Takao could have sworn Kise let out a large cheer.

Midorima, on the other hand, had a sense of deja vu.

"Get off me, Takao." He flipped his back over and tried to shrug the weight off but was met with strong resistance.

"Shin-chan... Shin-chan, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you angry... I like you, Shin-chan! I really do... So please don't hate me..."

Knowing that begging had already shattered his pride, Takao let the tears flow. He wrapped his arms around Midorima and buried his face into his neck.

"Shin-chan... I like you... Please forgive me... Shin-chan..."

Midorima's anger crumbled at the sight of a teary Takao. His arms slowly and unconsciously went around him. In the background, the audience were cheering silently as they watched the scene unfold.

"Don't cry. I'll hear you out, okay?" Midorima awkwardly ran his hand down Takao's back in an attempt to calm him down. He looked away in embarrassment. The pair sat in silence, enjoying the warmth of each other's embrace. Aomine felt terribly out of place now. He muttered a few curses under his breath and turned to leave.

The pair's engrossment in each other caused them to not notice Aomine's departure. The remaining audience, although reluctant, discreetly left as well to give the couple some time together.

"Shin-chan... I like you..." Takao repeated his words, looking into Midorima's eyes in desperation, as if trying to search for the answer to his feelings.

Midorima had a conflicted expression on his face. He seemed to be debating on what to say.

"I-I... It didn't feel right without you with me these few weeks. And I may have gone a little overboard..." He clutched Takao's waist tighter as he trailed off. As much as he wouldn't admit it, he kind of missed Takao's presence during the past few weeks.

Takao's eyes widened. This was as close to a confession he'll get from Shin-chan, wasn't it? He was speechless, his feelings indescribable and the furious palpitations of his heart reinforced the reality of the situation. His heart soaring, Takao hugged his partner.

"Shin-chan... Shin-chan... I'm so happy..." Takao smiled up at Midorima goofily. A part of him told him that as real as this seemed, this had to be a dream, and he was just in his delusional fantasies again. He needed a wake-up call.

"Shin-chan..."

"Hmm?"

"Slap me..." he continued dreamily.

Shin-chan gave him a disturbed look.

"Okay."

Shin-chan raised his hand for the second time that day, and promptly slapped Takao.

"OWW that hurt, you moron! Eh... It hurts? Does this mean this isn't a dream and you aren't a fantasy? Shin-channnn! You are real!? Shin-cha-ompf!" Takao's babble was silenced with Midorima's lips pressing against him.

That day, Takao shared his second kiss with Shin-chan.

* * *

**A/N:** And so we've a happy ending xD How was it? Abrupt? Acceptable? Do tell me your opinion... And also, stay tuned for the last chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Hello to all readers, the last chapter is up! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AOMINE! And thank you xkaiblue for betaing this final chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kuroko no Basuke!

* * *

CHAPTER 17

The aftermath...

Even though Midorima did try to hide their relationship at school (not that everyone didn't already think that they were a couple), the news spread pretty quickly with the help of a certain few people. Furthermore, Takao continued his public displays of affection despite Midorima's constant reminders not to and the fact that Midorima himself didn't reject his advances didn't help to hide their relationship either. Thanks to all that, the news spread far and wide.

Everyone had given them their blessings once news was out. There were calls, messages and even random people coming up to congratulate them in school. Midorima thought it had gone too far when the Seirin team sent a card wishing them the best. To make matters worse, there was also a fan club at school centered around their relationship (Midorima's reaction when he found a doujinshi of them was priceless). All these had Midorima almost regretting his decision to enter a relationship.

A few weeks later, the couple went on a double date with Kise and Aomine and also to celebrate Aomine's birthday (Midorima was reluctant to do so but with the power of Takao's puppy eyes and Kise's annoying whines, he gave in).

Technically, it wasn't a date for the other two, more like a hanging-out session but Takao thought that the two would make a pretty great pair so in his opinion, it was a date.

They were walking down the streets, entering whatever shops that caught their interest and casually chatting about anything under the sun.

They stopped at the park for a game of basketball but found that it was pathetically uninteresting to play against each other; whenever Midorima made a shot, Aomine would return it and they would continue this vicious cycle of tit-for-tat scoring.

So the pairs found themselves at a little cafe on the street. There, Kise and Takao sang a birthday song to an embarrassed Aomine and Midorima was forced by Takao to clap along since he refused to sing. It was also there where Takao decided to spring his surprise on Midorima. He rummaged through his bag, his face lighting up when he found what he was looking for.

"Shin-chan~ Close your eyes!"

Midorima raised his eyebrows at this.

"Why?"

"Just do it! I'll give you a kiss if you do~"

Midorima sighed but decided to indulge his boyfriend. He closed his eyes and waited.

He heard a click and felt a foreign feeling on his neck. Knowing what Takao just did he was unable to keep a small smile from forming. He opened his eyes.

A necklace lay on his neck. It was similar to Takao's; a black chain and a single orange bead. One could even say they matched. Now Midorima wished that the bead he chose before was green instead of red (he wasn't disappointed by his lack of foresight, mind you).

"Thank you, Takao." Under the table, he clasped the other's right hand gently.

"Heheh, now Shin-chan has a lucky item from me and people can see that we belong to each other now!" Takao exclaimed, a little too loud for Midorima's liking. Midorima refrained himself from informing Takao that lucky items only lasted for one day. Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice Takao gripping his hand back and leaning forward to plant his promised kiss on Midorima's lips.

"T-Takao! Don't do this in public!" Midorma stuttered but still allowed Takao to nuzzle his neck, his face turning red in the process.

"Awwwww. So cute! I want to fall in love too! I want to do mushy things too!"

Kise was gushing over how adorable they were and Aomine just rolled his eyes at the lovebirds.

"Hey, it's my birthday, why are you giving him a gift instead? And I don't need to see this sickening lovey doveyness on my birthday. Go screw each other already." Aomine fake-gagged jokingly.

"You would think the porn videos would have helped you two get it on already..." his eyes widened as he caught what he was saying and he cut off his speech immediately.

Unfortunately, Midorima did not miss his words.

"So it was your fault."

Aomine tried to change the subject.

"Wow, nice weather today! Right, Kise?" he jabbed the blonde sharply. Kise yelped and nodded his head in a rather unconvincing way.

"Yes, indeed! Bright sun eh?" he looked out of the window cheerfully, only to be greeted by dark storm clouds and the rumble of thunder. Takao and Aomine burst out laughing and amidst the chortling, Kise pouted:

"Aominecchi! I was helping you!"

And so the date-cum-birthday celebration went on.

* * *

At the end of the date...

"Alright, we'll be going now. See you, Takaocchi, Midorimacchi!" Kise waved as he and Aomine walked down the street.

Takao and Midorima started walking back to Midorima's house. Since it was dark, Midorima allowed Takao to hook their arms together. Despite the relatively happy atmosphere, Takao could sense that Midorima had something on his mind.

"What's wrong, Shin-chan? Was today boring?"

Midorima stopped in tracks and turned to face Takao.

"I'm sorry. For the videos. I mean, knowing Aomine, he probably set you up to this. And I've hurt you. I'm sorry." he reached out and stroked Takao's cheek.

Takao felt a twinge of pain as he recalled the incident. He shook his head and smiled:

"It's okay! It's over already so let's just focus on the present, okay?"

Midorima nodded, retracted his hand from his cheek and they both continued their journey. But Midorima still seemed to be brooding, so Takao tried probing further. This time, he was the one who stopped walking:

"Okay, what else do you want to tell me?"

Midorima turned to him again.

"I want to repay Aomine for his wonderful intervention."

Takao understood the implication of his words.

_He wants revenge..._ Takao realised as he stared into Midorima's eyes.

"So how are we supposed to go about it? You have a plan in mind?" As much as Aomine was sort of his good friend now, a part of him wanted to inflict a little suffering on the power forward.

"We need to give the birthday boy a present. An annoying, loud and blond present."

Shin-chan was smirking as he said this. Takao thought that the idea was brilliant. He voiced out his thoughts.

"Shin-chan, that's brilliant! Let's do it! We can start planning once we get home!" he cheered.

"Not now."

"Eh?"

"That can come later." Midorima's eyes took on a predatory glimmer. Lowering his voice into a husky tone, he brushed his lips against Takao's ear and murmured:

"Right now, what I want is to see you in the bunny suit again."

**~END~**

* * *

**A/N:** How was the ending? Do tell me your thoughts on the whole story!

By the way, to the guest who wanted more drama:

Sorry about that… What you described was actually rather similar to my original plans for the chapter but the story just went into this direction when I wrote it. I'm really sorry! I'll look into more drama if there's a possible future story!

Thank you all for reading, favouriting and following this story! Every review, favourite and follow really motivated me so thank you again /bows

So now, it's time for me to return to my lurking cave lol. Chances are, the next story will possibly manifest only after my exams. Till then, see you!


	18. Previews

This is not part of the story.

Hi, I just wanted to tell readers that CAAHI will have a sequel, an AoKise one. This time, Midorima and Takao will become the cupids for Aomine and Kise xD It'll be up after my exams but I have finished one and a half chapters so here's a short preview:

Sweet, Sweet Revenge

"Kise likes you."

As soon as the words were spoken, Takao fell back to gauge Aomine's reaction. Aomine was as still as a statue for the first few minutes but eventually, he regained his voice and responded with a loud:

"WHAT?!"

* * *

**Edit:** Hi! Just to inform readers that Break the Boundaries won't be written anymore due to some reasons OAO but the preview will still be left here :P

And here's a preview of a new MidoTaka fic I'm going to write after my exams too. I should be juggling this two if I can cope:

Break the Boundaries

Damn Takao and his stupid antics. Midorima wondered what wrong had he done in his previous life to get himself into this mess. Perhaps, his lucky item wasn't big enough or something.

Fine. Since Takao wanted a challenge, Takao would get it. Midorima ignored his logical mind screaming _No, you fool_ at him and grabbed Takao's shirt. Bringing the boy closer to his face, Midorima hissed:

"Bring. It. On."


	19. BTB1 (discontinued)

**Break the Boundaries**

**A/N: **As requested by **Blank Angel**, this is the first and only chapter I have written for **Break the Boundaries**.

This was written when** CAAHI **was finished, so my writing style back then may differ slightly. I will not be continuing the story.

Unedited and stuff so there may be mistakes in the writing :O

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.

**Summary:** They can push the boundaries all they want, but can they maintain their relationship in the process?

* * *

PROLOGUE

At Takao's house

Takao Kazunari was bored. Very bored. Bored was definitely an understatement.

"Ah, so boring! There's nothing to do at home!" he checked his cellphone for any messages but found none. At least, none from the person he wanted to talk to. "Why is Shin-chan ignoring my texts?" he cried out as texted his partner for the twentieth time that night:

_Shin-channnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, talk to me! Talk talk talk talk talk talk to me! (nanodayo) xDDD (see what I did there? xP)_

A few seconds later, his cellphone beeped with a message:

_GO DIE NANODAYO_

Takao knew not to expect any reply from Midorima after that, so he opted to switch the television on to find a programme to watch.

He flicked through a few documentaries, news, soap operas and other stuff one can usually find on television but none were interesting enough. He was about to give up watching swimming penguins and go do his homework when an accidental press of the remote control brought loud, blasting music to his ears.

_Now, this is interesting. _Takao thought as he watched people scream, laugh and do random stuff on screen. It was a variety show of some sorts, and it had caught Takao' attention.

Homework forgotten, Takao sat in front of the television and watched the show.

* * *

At Shuutoku, after school

School had ended and the students were all rushing out of the classes to escape the hellhole. But one boy, Takao Kazunari, remained in class with his basketball partner and also best friend, Midorima Shintaro.

Now as said before, Takao was bored so he ended up watching television last night and was captivated by a certain TV show in which the people on it played a certain game. It had looked really fun and Takao really wanted to try it out, being the sporting person he was.

But first, Takao had to look for another player. It wouldn't make sense for him to play a game by himself.

And so he settled for said partner and best friend. After all, best friends always played games together. But second, he had to persuade said partner and best friend who was a grumpy spoilsport to play.

Playing the game was easy, but the initial stage, the persuasion, was the hardest, in Takao's opinion. Midorima was known to be stubborn after all. But Takao knew that with a little push, Shin-chan would give in to him, so he wasn't too worried about that.

So immediately, after school, when they were waiting for basketball practice to start, Takao got to work at persuading the green-head. He grasped the opportunity when the boy was reading.

"Shin-chan, Shin-chan! Let's play a game!" Takao prodded Midorima's cheek as he spoke.

Removing Takao's hand from his cheek, Midorima pushed his glasses, which had gone askew from the prodding, up and looked directly at Takao.

"Not now. We get to play during basketball practice later." He resumed reading.

"I don't mean basketball! As in a game, game, you get it? So, wanna play?"

Takao arranged his face into a pleading, puppy dog look.

"No. I have no time for your silly games."

Takao pouted, his puppy eyes disappearing.

"Eh, why? Come on Shin-chan, it'll be fun! I saw it on TV. It was extreme! Aren't you my best friend? Don't you want to try it? Please please please?"

Midorima ignored him. Still, Takao continued.

"Shin-channnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnn-"

Midorima waited for Takao to run out of breath and stop his nonsense, but Takao seemed to have very powerful lungs and breathing capacity.

"nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnn-"

Okay, he should be stopping anytime now.

"nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn-"

Midorima couldn't take it anymore. He closed the book he was reading with a sigh. Takao stopped. Midorima looked at him (whose face had turned a little blue and was also grasping for air), with an unimpressed expression (okay, maybe a little impressed because Takao had powerful lungs).

"What do you want me to do?"

Takao's face lit up at his words and he started chattering in between his panting:

"Oh, it's called Boundaries, you heard of it? The rules are easy! The players do whatever they can to make the other angry-"

Not liking the sound of the game, Midorima cut in with another "No."

Takao had the gall to go on as if he didn't hear Midorima.

"And see who bursts first! There are no limits to what a player can do but there has to be no injuries and any moral transgressions, whatever that is. Anyway, Shin-chan, don't you think it's fun? I bet you'll burst in an instant. Like KABOOM!"

Takao definitely knew which button to push. Midorima's irritation grew further, but he refused to give in. He remained silent to indicate his refusal. But Takao was also not one to give up.

"Aww Shin-chan, don't ignore me! I'll start the ball rolling! See, I can do this," he smacked Midorima hard on the back. Midorima coughed and rubbed where he knew a bruise would form. Takao was probably using that as an excuse to hit him. He glared at Takao but refused to give in to his antics.

Takao's eyes took on a sly glint. Midorima did not like the look of that. He braced himself for whatever terrible thing Takao had thought of.

"Or..." Takao's voice took on a slight purr, "I can do this." He flung Midorima's lucky item of the day, a porcelain doll, onto the ground. The doll shattered on the floor with a loud crash. Takao smirked at him, knowing that he had pushed Midorima's buttons to the extreme.

That did it. Midorima's fury was almost at his peak now. How dare Takao do that to his lucky item! He was going to hold the boy responsible if anything bad happened to him that day. Yes, he was going to write in his will: Blame Takao for my death when he got home. And he was not going to bequeath anything of his lucky items to him anymore. Not that Midorima was planning to do so in the first place but yeah.

Damn Takao and his stupid antics. Midorima wondered what wrong had he done in his previous life to get himself into this mess. Perhaps his lucky item wasn't big enough or something.

Fine. Since Takao wanted a challenge, Takao would get it. Midorima ignored his logical mind screaming _No, you fool_ at him and grabbed Takao's shirt. Bringing the boy closer to his face, Midorima hissed:

"Bring. It. On."


End file.
